The Little Things
by martinique
Summary: Part 1 done, Part 2 WIP 5 years later, Konoha is gone. How do Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara survive with each other when precariously on edge? yaoi. SasuNaru, GaaNaru. Lemon. Part 2: New and old foes haunt Naruto & Sasuke - is Naruto losing his mind?
1. Prologue

**The Little Things**

By _starapple_ (i.e. martinique)

**Rating:** R  
**Note:** Adultfanfiction version has lemon, link in profile.  
**Edit:** A few edits made here and there in this chapter to facilitate easy reading.

**Prologue**

"You don't really understand me, do you? I guess you never did. _'No one will change'_, bet that is what you thought. If you ever thought about it at all, Sasuke. So you killed your brother. Well done. But you're back now, and ready to act like nothing ever happened. Take a good look around, Sasuke. There's nothing left. They're gone." Naruto rasped out, a bitter tone lodged deep in the shallows of his mouth. "All we have left is each other, and this empty village. Oh, and Gaara over there."

Sasuke hadn't even noticed him. He'd charged in like a dumb five-year old. Had he learnt nothing these past years? He'd learnt enough to kill Itachi. He'd kill him for calling him his brother. He was the man who betrayed everything he had held dear.

"But really, what I would like to know is what you were thinking." Naruto said as he hopped down into the crater and into Sasuke's line of sight. Black eyes, defiantly battle-ready blearily peered into a grinning face, familiar but changed by more than time. "You saw the empty village. And you saw Gaara and I. The first fucking conclusion you come to is that somehow, we must be responsible." The voice, deeper, rougher, paused. "Where's the trust?" Naruto cocked his head, frowning slightly."You alive?"

Sasuke blinked, in a vain effort to clear his eyes of the blood and sand. "Yes", came the faint reply, eyes narrowing dangerously, "and when I wake up, I'm going to rip those tails out." Naruto simply smiled and bent down to Sasuke's ear.

"Good, we have a lot of hating to catch up on; none of that kid-rivalry bullshit." He felt the rush of hot air across his ear; then nothing.


	2. Chapter 1 even blank slates can crumble

**Chapter 1**  
"Kill him." The intensity in Gaara's voice, his entire demeanour would scare him if he didn't know he was mad and simply couldn't help it. 

"Gaara, no matter how many times you repeat it, we are not going to kill Sasuke." The patience in his voice was running out. Gaara seemed intent on replacing his shadow - and just as his shadow was lousy company.

"…"

"Your pauses are really fucking irritating." Naruto leant back in the chair. A chair that had been used by the Hokages. A chair that he had always wanted to sit in. And now that he was, he wondered why. Perhaps Gaara wasn't a very good subject.

"What's the point of keeping him alive?"

"My village is gone, and you want me to kill one of the guys who was a part of it?" Naruto shouted at him, annoyed at the way he was taking this all in his stride, leaning against the wall idly, as if nothing had changed. He slumped back into the chair, frustration spent for a moment. It didn't do to bait the boy too much, he was unpredictable, and they both didn't quite understand their own power. He could subdue Gaara, but now with Sasuke nearly back to full health, he'd be vulnerable. He was paranoid. Something about this entire thing was wrong.

"Mother can't smell blood." Gaara reflected darkly. Naruto was sure the Gourd on the redhead's back twitched slightly, or was this the value of time spent closeted with a psycho? He buried his head in his hands, unsure of how to deal with this. He was right, that is what irked Naruto. Everything irked, annoyed, irritated Naruto right now. But he couldn't be blamed for that, could he? How was he supposed to explain the absence of an entire village. _No bodies. No blood. No sign of a struggle._ Just everyone gone. Wandering around the academy, around the offices, he got the feeling that it had been a surprise to everyone. Things were left mid-sentence. And there were no clues, no traces to follow. When he had come back from the year-long mission, Gaara in tow mumbling to himself, he'd nearly joined him. He had no one to blame, no one to kill.

He resented Sasuke's return, three days after theirs. Hated how his hair was tied back, wearing the forehead protector, the leaf hardly visible. Testament to the fights he had endured while seeking power to kill his brother. He'd been angry, and then furious when he attacked them, seeing the empty village and thinking it must have been either of them. He'd decided in that very moment to hate Sasuke for it, to blame the entire affair on him. If he hadn't left, this wouldn't have happened. He was sure of it. One of them could have protected Konoha.

He pushed himself away from the desk, ignoring the papers scattered over the desk. He'd already poured over them, with no success. It shocked him to think that no one had left a clue. That they could all be dead, fellow ninjas, Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade, Sakura, Neji…. Some of the most talented ninjas ever.

"I'm going to see Sasuke." It was clear, even to Gaara that tagging along would not be tolerated. "Find me some Ramen?" he asked, softly. _Don't play with snakes._

But he was a born prankster.

It was nice to see another person, even if it was Sasuke. But for his black hair, he nearly faded into the hospital bed, white bandages covering a multitude of shallow wounds and more. He stood next to the bed, knowing that the boy didn't sleep, was merely biding his time. The talk was overdue. He'd been unconscious for a few days, but now that he was nearly back to full health he could be a problem.

"I know you're awake. We need to talk." A grim smile appeared on Sasuke's lips. He opened his eyes, Naruto's narrowing at what he saw, the Sharingan alive and well. "Stop that." Sasuke laughed, and Naruto was surprised at how the sound came up out of his lungs unimpeded. He healed faster than he had expected.

"I can't, dobe. Get used to it." He couldn't stop the shock at those words from flickering across his face. He itched to punch to smug face in front of him. "What's with the tails, demon."

"They come with the job description."

"I see." There's a dark glint in his eyes that Naruto knows instinctively he doesn't like. His tails twitch nervously, instinct at work. It may have been years since they last saw each other, years in which they have both changed, but body language is the same wherever you go and he just knew Sasuke could taste the anxiety on him.

"We need to talk."

"About how you and sand boy killed them all without leaving a trace?" Sasuke ground out. He felt his fists tighten in the bandages. He had endured worse pain than this. He could fight long enough to secure an escape route, especially without Gaara here.

"First things first," Naruto snarled, "Don't even think about running because I will catch you and if necessary tie you up with steel rope. Secondly, we didn't do it. We came back from a year long mission and found Konoha like this."

"You're kidding me, right. Why the hell would you and Gaara go on a mission together? I may have been absent, but I'm not stupid."

"_Absent? You call five years absent?_ You left. Had it been me, they would have had Hunter nins after me in a heartbeat. But you, from the great Uchiha clan just get sympathy. Never declared as a missing nin. No matter how much I grew in power, I was feared. I'm tired of it, and to be honest this has been a welcome relief from constant suspicion. But I didn't do it. I couldn't have." He pulled up a seat from by the window, drawing the curtains shut. It didn't make any difference, it was as if Konoha was permanently in a depression, characterised by low dark clouds that threatened rain.

"As for Gaara's presence…. It was the Hokage's doing. Demons sealed into people have the strangest effects sometimes, she sent us out to kill someone who had gone mad. She hadn't been brought up with it in her, so she had no control. She couldn't bend the monster in her to her will. She was rampaging across most of Mist Country, who had been stupid enough to plant a damn Squid in her. It wasn't old, young by the usual standards of demons. But it still took the two of us to subdue her."

"It took a year?" No reaction other than pure disbelief.

"Yes."

"Why?" "Look, the point is that it took a year, and in that year something happened here. Now you can get better, attack me and have me put you back into this bed, or you can hate me and help us search for clues."

"You've changed." He paused. "Still run your mouth off, though."

"Fuck you too, Sasuke."

"I can't make promises I won't keep." A dark look passed over Naruto's face.

"So you _did_ learn something out there. That's okay though, your promises are worth _shit_ with me." Naruto pushed his hair behind his ear, irritated that tendrils had escaped the braid again. He strolled to the door, turning around to give Sasuke another assessing look before disappearing out into the corridors of the hospital.

Sasuke fell back into his pillow, contemplating murder.


	3. Chapter 2 shatter

** Chapter 2 – shatter  
by starapple (martinique)  
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**The tension in the kitchen of Naruto's former apartment was audible. Naruto warily watched Sasuke and Gaara, worried that they may tear each other apart. This would present him with two problems, a dead Sasuke and a homicidal Gaara. The power imbalance in the room was palpable. He'd rather Sasuke was on his side anyway, but he didn't like him very much at the moment, very less trust him with his life. But Gaara was no guarantee either. He idly stirred the last cup of Ramen he had found in his cupboard. Possibly the brightest thing in his life right now, even with Sasuke suddenly barging back in. 

That was still a problem, one that wouldn't go away if they kept spitting fire at each other as if they were still Genin.

"Why is he mumbling to himself?" Sasuke leant towards him to ask.

"I don't know, to be honest. Sometimes he talks to his Mother, but recently she keeps replying. Something about not smelling any blood." He replied matter-of-factly.

"When did it start?"

"When we got here."

"And you never thought to ask him why his 'Mother' keeps talking to him?"

"Not really. Gaara is Gaara."

"Right." Sasuke pauses. "What about you?"

"You mean the demon."

"No, you. Seeing as you're one, now. Am I right?"

"He realized he wasn't getting out any time soon, so he might as well help me out by shutting the fuck up and handing over the powers."

"So he used to talk to you."

"Kind of." Talking about this was coming easily to him. "I now have the tails, but none of his memories. Which is good."

"So sandboy is uncomfortable here, but you look as if this is the usual welcome."

"Let me tell you something," Naruto looks at Sasuke, who is still leaning towards him, away from Gaara, "this place is creeping me out."

"So what do we do until…."

"I've checked everything I can think of. Clothes, useful belongings – they are all gone. Other than random pieces of paper, Tsunade's office is cleared of all the cool Hokage stuff."

"Someone other than the three of us should be here now, unless they alerted all of them."

"Theoretically, yes. Just, the mission we went on was so highly priced, and paid in advance, that Tsunade declared peace and only issued short C and D-rank missions." The noodles in his cup were done, just a few pieces of vegetable were left. He crunched his nose up at them and set them to the side.

"Oh, that's just fantastic."

"No need for sarcasm, I'm with you on this one. I wanted to get home, have people welcome me back…."

"You finished the mission but Gaara was coming back with you?"

"He wanted to."

"And you said; 'hey, sure homicidal maniac, come on in!'" Gaara's eyes snapped open at that moment.

"I don't kill for fun." He gravely said. Sasuke eyed them both with an equal measure of disgust, and walked out. Naruto looked at Gaara, lip curling up slightly in suppressed laughter. He was about to be hysteric.

Naruto looked along the street; wondering where exactly everyone could be. They'd searched the village, combing through every street, alley, nooks and crannies possible, hoping for a clue. The streets were empty. It still didn't quite feel real. Being here, and everyone not. This, formerly the market square, would have been busy during the day. Stalls stood empty, lacking charm, lacking life. Dust swirled around the legs of tables once reserved for breads, cheeses and meat. He had to tear his eyes from the scene, lifting it to the sky. It was blue, the sun was shining. It was enough to make a grown man cry at the irony. Life went on just as usual. Did his dream of becoming hokage even matter anymore, when faced with two ill-disposed shinobi who were both mentally unstable and intrinsically untrustable?

He scrunched up his nose, turning on his feet to take in the entire sky. Even cloud-watching didn't seem to have a point to it, but Naruto knew that is exactly why Shikamaru did it. Life is filled full of pointless things; Shikamaru just chose the one with the least pretensions. His eyes landed dully on the mountain. The faces carved into it seemed alien to him. A testament to an era lost. He walked towards it, steps crunching on the ground. He stopped as quickly as he had started, realising that he wouldn't be able to take this much longer. His entire body felt heavy, moving his eyes took too much energy. He crumpled in on himself and fell to the floor, curling in on himself, willing himself not to cry about it. He was a man now, he could do this. He could find them somehow, he would not lose his mind, he still had something to aim for. The village may be gone, but it could come alive one day. He would make it so.

He sat up on his haunches, brushing off the dust, hoping no one had seen his little display. His ears strained to hear anything, but there was only the rush of the wind, the sound of lone birds in the air. He could almost hear the bustle, his ear bringing to life memories a year old.

Who could kill an entire village without a trace? Naruto shook his head, the braid whipping behind him. A dark blur was just out of sight to his right. Sasuke. He glared at the horizon above the mountain once more.

Sasuke came to a stop next to his old friend. Although whether he could call him that was still being reviewed. Did he trust this boy? Did he trust either of them? They'd left him alone so far, not caring where he went. So he had gone where he wanted to, without hindrance. Konoha was empty. It was bound to happen, he was bound to search the more sane demon kid out. He was surprised at that though. The silence should have fit him perfectly. He had enjoyed silence before he left, had been silent during his entire encounter with Itachi. Not a word spoken, just the flash of metal in moonlight and the grunts and groans that came when flesh met flesh. He thoughtfully ran a finger over his knuckles, grinning weakly at the thought of them meeting Itachi's face repeatedly.

He looked Naruto closely, unashamedly staring at him, taking in the details of his change. Still the same blue eyes, but the slant to them had changed, more serious, nowhere near haggard, but grown. His hair, still blond, but now bound in a rough braid that flew down his spine to rest near the base. He had seen it fly behind the boy, along with the tails that now flickered anxiously, now lazily. He could see he was at ease, but wary.

"No sign of a monster, Sasuke. No sign of blood or bones. So what happened? The only thing I can come up with is that they left. But why? Why would they leave? Why would they leave and not tell me, not leave a sign so I could follow?" Naruto sounded pained. His fist tightened. Sasuke followed his line of sight up to the mountain. The hokage. It is what he had always wanted to be. The pain in Naruto's voice suddenly tore him apart. He had lost his family, but to Naruto the village had been his family, full of evil aunts and uncles who shunned him but loving grandmothers like Tsunade. He knew what it felt like to be alone.

He looked a the Hokage mountain again. It had barely weathered in the time he had been gone. Monuments to an age gone._ They left. _ Naruto turned on him. _Reasons, not monsters, too peaceful, they left_. A fist curled his shirt into a ball, pulling them nose to nose. _They HAD to leave._ Sasuke blankly looked the boy, no, man, into the eyes.

"Don't you fucking die on me, you're all I have left." Naruto hissed into his mouth, pressing a fierce kiss to his lips. He barely processed the warm hot heat, melting just a little into it, and coming to the same conclusion. His eyes shifted to the mountain once more, and what his mother had said came to him.

_Run to the mountains when we evacuate.  
_

Naruto pulled back, a satisfied look on his face, letting go of the shirt. Sasuke looked glazed. He found that very satisfying indeed. He licked his lips thoughtfully, Sasuke standing stock still next to him. He turned back to the mountain. He felt, rather than saw, Sasuke come back to the living next to him, felt it in the way the atmosphere shimmered back into reality. He cleared his throat.

"They evacuated."

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**AN**: Third chapter half-written. Thanks for the reviews so far, they motivate me to finish another chapter! 


	4. Chapter 3 threads unravel and turn

**The Little Things  
by starapple (i.e. martinique)**

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** Chapter 3 – threads unravel and turn to dust**

"You're kidding me right? I used to jump around there all the time. If they were still there, they'd have heard us and come down by now to inform us of the evacuation." Naruto stood there, disbelieving. It sounded too easy. It was the one place they had overlooked, but he had never quite taken it seriously.

"No, you don't understand. Those caves are a temporary evacuation point. Those _faces_ are ancient. The caves go back for miles if you look beyond the illusions. They lead out to another valley which opens onto a beach. They're near the sea. They must be." Sasuke explained; never taking his eyes off the mountains. It was a relief to him, despite the avenger he was he _missed_ them. It's why he had attacked Naruto and Gaara without hesitation. Without a second thought. But this gave him hope. He was nearly sick with it, hope threatening to boil up out of him.

"We have to prepare." Naruto whispered.

"Get the mad kid." Sasuke commanded. Naruto was already gone, running off back towards his place where he would find Gaara. It might be months or even years before they see this place again, but it didn't matter. To him Konoha was wherever everyone he knew was. They weren't here. This place was now a shell, one that had been cracked and the spirit of it had escaped with the evacuees, to settle into the bones of the new land.

The wind whipped through his clothes, and as soon as he had started he came to a stop, looking at the front of his door. He touched the wood, imprinting the feel of weathered paint onto his memory, anticipating regret, nostalgia. _This is what I'll remember_.

He burst into his apartment, immediately spotting Gaara by the kitchen sink, sombrely washing up. Tame, like this, made him look comical. He had seen him with killer eyes, glowing darkly in the night as they hunted. It had been a hunt in the end, the girl was no longer human; a fight had been reduced to sheer survival of the fittest, of the smartest. It had been a long time together, but he still wasn't sure if he understood him completely. He was convinced they were very much alike, but he couldn't stop himself – or was it _both_ of himself – from feeling skittish around him. On edge. Prepared to defend himself to the death if needed. Thinking about it now made him twitch for the kunai in his pockets.

"Naruto." Gaara remarked, oddly satisfied to find him back.

"Sasuke thinks they went through the caves. We need to go." Naruto cocked his head to one side at Gaara's silence. He watched him turn around, unsure whether to assess the risk but forcing himself not to, not in his house, not today.

"Mother said she couldn't smell blood. Didn't I say that?" for a moment Gaara looked confused, disorientated. Naruto's hand flinched to his pocket, fingering the cool steel ring of the kunai. His features cleared, leaving the piercing green eyes pinning him to the spot, seeing all that there is to him. He brought a hand – shaking, Naruto noted – to his head. "Naruto… Shukaku is taking my space away." It came out as a plea for sympathy and understanding rather than the fact it had been phrased as. But Naruto took both. It explained his deteriorating situation. It was only the blood fest of the past year that kept Shukaku in check. But to be this impatient, already, and Gaara obviously more and more under his control had devastating implications for Naruto. He didn't share any headspace with his own demon, but who knows what could happen? The Fourth could have messed up somehow, somewhere. He felt invincible, but Death would come. He just didn't know when. He was damn hard to kill, he knew as much, but that didn't mean that the kyuubi himself wouldn't kill him. It'd be the ultimate irony. He didn't want to go out like that. He had to prove everyone wrong about everything.

He had to heal Gaara. Somehow. He didn't know anything about medicine, but damn he would try. And keep this all from Sasuke. There was enough mistrust in this rag-tag trio to cripple a business.

He approached Gaara, meandering to his side. He brought his hands up to Gaara's head, ignoring the look Gaara was giving him, flickering from dark, ancient, resentful eyes to the clear, angry green that was the true Gaara.

"Where are you? Push your chakra from your mind." A loose plan was forming. He could feel Gaara's force emanate from half of his head. Marking the area mentally, he pushed slivers of chakra into Gaara's brain, fencing off the area between Shukaku and Gaara lightly. It was delicate work, and would wear off over time – how much he didn't know – but it was better than nothing.

"Thanks." Gaara murmured, looking down onto the carpeted floor between their bodies, their feet. There was less tension in his body than before, the muscle across his shoulder more relaxed, the pinched look on his face gone, forehead smooth. "This won't work forever." He hung his head a little lower.

"By that time we'll have found Konoha, they can help." The words sounded more convincing than he thought they would. He could taste Konoha on his tongue now, they were close, and he could feel it, felt it in the way his body was aligned with the caves, pointing to the sea. Gaara gave a weak smile, near concealed by the shadows in the kitchen. "Fuck, Gaara, I mean it." He gave the other a shake, for good measure.

"You're always hoping for the best to happen, aren't you?" Gaara remarked, the same deadpan tone in his voice. The stance between them altered, subtly, shifted to a place Naruto had difficulty recognising. It tasted familiar, as if from a dream, as if from a prior reality. His heart hurt, and he could feel the demon growl sardonically, taking pleasure.

"I'm still alive, so tell me who's wrong here." Him, defensive.

"You're lucky." Gaara spat, breaking free from the hold Naruto had on him, the intimacy between them. He stood with his back to him, in sharp relief to the kitchen walls, blood dipped strands of hair fading dark.

"Same thing." Naruto concluded, summoning up the strength to ignore the pain Gaara had brought up. The year had been long, but time hadn't run enough for him to forget the way flesh burns when met with hate. "Come on, we have to go."

"Yeah, sure."

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**AN: Hehe, short chapter, but hell, at least it is something. I was just going to continue, but I decided it was better to make this a separate chapter. Incidentally, the idea of this being just 6 chapters long has completely fallen out of my mind. This will be a lot longer. I don't even quite have an end in sight.**

Also, there were some formatting issues with the previous chapters. About half-way down the POV shifts slightly, as does the scene. Before I had some plus signs dividing the sections but those disappeared when posted. Sorry about that. ** Thanks for all of the reviews, they are greatly appreciated!  
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	5. Chapter 3 Part B

**The Little Things**

**by starapple (i.e. Martinique)**

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The weather turned bitter. It sang across the cave openings, a deep moan played out over the village. It bounced back and forth, an echo caught. Naruto shivered slightly. The stillness of the village was creepy. And he knew this sound wouldn't leave him, even if the vibrations faded in his bones. The three of them were stood on the lip of the cave, looking in. The darkness gave nothing away, other than the darkness yet to come. Naruto shifted uneasily. Who knew how far the caves went? They had found nothing which could tell them anything. Only Sasuke's insistence that this was the correct cave, that this had to be the only way had them standing in front of it, adjusting their packs, thinking carefully about everything they were about to leave behind.

The cave was making him skittish, but Sasuke seemed unfazed by it all. Gaara seemed right at home, but Naruto knew that boy would walk into burning forest just to see what it was like. The darkness beckoned him, seductively speaking to him, making him want to run and be enveloped by the cold embrace.

"Now or never." He muttered, knowing they heard him. Sasuke took the first step forward, and for the first time he didn't race him to the edge, willing to let him take the lead.

And what were they expecting? He waited for his eyes to adjust to the pitch dark. They had left it to the evening, so he didn't have to wait long, but the difference was palpable. Shapes in the background remained diffident to his sharpened vision, impenetrable as before. They made their way forwards, adopting a regular march that decayed into careful walk. The sound in the cave bounced as darkness claimed them and they moved further and further from the mouth of the cave. Just five minutes in and it already seemed an age since he'd seen life. This was making him paranoid, and Naruto forced himself not to think about it. But how he wished for some light. Gaara was bringing up the flank, humming to himself. The sound pierced the cave, the melody to the dull throb of their shoes on the dry uneven floor.

He lost himself in his thoughts, paying little attention to his surroundings as they marched onwards. As they moved deeper into the chasm, the air around them seemed stifled, the crowding in on him damply.

"Can we stop?" Naruto finally broke out, coming to an abrupt halt. The blackness was slowly caving him in, his mind was shattering all around him and there was nothing he could do about it.

Gaara watched calmly from the back, ignoring Naruto's twitching shoulders. The dark was calming to him, and it showed in his relaxed stance. The guilt at being so unconcerned about Naruto niggled slightly at him, but right now, in this state of floating he didn't want to jeopardise and smear this paradise with guilt.

"No. Two more hours at least." Sasuke started off again into the dark, his unflinching command echoing darkly back the way they had come. The Sharingan sat in his eyes as if he'd been born with it – making Naruto very uncomfortable. He attempted to pull himself together, pushing away the cloying feel of earth all around and caught up with Sasuke, falling back into line.

They marched like this for another two hours before Sasuke called a halt. Each built up their own little pallet. The cave was quiet in breathing, and they said nothing more to each other than necessary.

The next morning came with Gaara crunching through his rations, Sasuke dully staring into the tunnel and Naruto holding his arms loosely, trying not to lose hold of his sanity. He couldn't explain it, but this claustrophobia was asphyxiating him. Finally Sasuke turned to him and said; "The cave is man-made, it has to lead somewhere."

They spent the rest of that day walking further. His body told him it was well past dusk, and the temperature had dropped inside considerably. Naruto was well beyond hope now, marching as that was the thing to do. But he noticed the sudden change in the darkness, how it gave way to his eyes. The hope made him dizzy, bubbling up in his stomach suddenly but he stoically stayed in line, marching along behind Sasuke who was coming into focus in front of him, spiky black hair solid against the night sky. He heard the wind rushing across trees and knew himself to be at a thick forest, but it felt so loud, so loud, the sound of boots on sand floor lost in the roar of nature.

They exited the cave.

He was dazed by being out in the world again, wanting to crumble and feel the earth which was absurd because he had just spent the better part of a day surrounded by it, but how was he to explain it? He didn't want to be buried. A laugh bubbled out of him, sucking in clear gasps of air. He pulled the zipper to his black jumper, glad to feel simple moonshine hit his face.

"And I'm the mad one here?" Gaara muttered, surprising himself at the sudden hate he felt. And it was only him, he could feel it. Shukaku was hidden behind the fence, sulking, his force once more diminished. But this itself was a time bomb, and damn, what dignity did he have left? He hated feeling dependent, and the anger rose in him, consuming him, his eyes all the way up to the red, his fists clutched tightly at his sides, the sand rose behind him threatening. What was it about Naruto that he suddenly disliked? They'd gotten along well enough the past year. He was suspicious. Or paranoid? Wasn't that what Naruto was? He shook his head lightly, clearing the contradicting thoughts.

Or was it Sasuke? His eyes narrowed onto the raven-haired man, watched him as he posed for some crowd with ease and inbred grace. The years on his own had done nothing to his inner worth. He was still an arrogant, supremely confident in his own abilities – although tempered by Naruto's consistent strength. Right now though Naruto was falling apart in front of their eyes. The sand behind him wavered slightly. This wasn't Naruto's fault. This wasn't any of their fault, who knew this could have happened? Why was he here though? He could be back home. Not that it would change his murderous intent as the lack of people did here, but he'd be home. The place he called home….

He needed to help Naruto find his home, if only to repay him for his kindness. His mind tugged uneasily at the memory. It was the question their minds kept returning to. Why would an entire village evacuate? What could be such a large threat to make them do that? Would they ever find answers; or would they have to scour the remains of a once-proud village to glean an inkling of the happenings?

Gaara put his pack down and approached Naruto from behind, pressing his chest to the other's back, letting the braid dangle between them.

"Home?" came the wistful question, lingering out in the open between them. Naruto went stock-still at it, Sasuke turned to stare at him. The moment extended itself, playing along the nerves of his spine.

Sasuke's voice, hoarse with disuse, made them search for shelter.

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**AN**: Thanks for the continuing support, makes my day!

**Riddle**: I suppose you've seen it on Either way, thanks very much for the comment, glad you're enjoying it. I keep wondering if the text is too dense, and I generally dislike writing in the third person anyway.

**Lady-Friselle**: Who knows if we're thinking along the same lines? I keep changing my mind about where this story should go. I scrapped a plan I had earlier, and now I'm just going to let the story carry itself to its own conclusion, which may happen in any way.

**Hogo-cha**: I hope this chapter makes up for it. I've been super-busy with homework and all of the usual in-real-life stuff! I hope things are starting to clear themselves up. Or maybe not, but explanations will start to trickle in.

**LazEbum**: I write a lot of yaoi, which makes classifying this as such a touch misleading. I can't help but have shounen-ai hints, but this is more of an experimental piece of fanfiction for me personally than a 'yaoi' one. That doesn't mean however that it will not take that direction, knowing my mind (and judging by my prior fanfics) it will most certainly end up yaoi. It may be of the dark and twisted kind. Until then, torturous shounen-ai. Heh!


	6. Chapter 4 the forest hides monsters

**The Little Things**

**by starapple (martinique)**

**

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Chapter 4 – The forest hides monsters**

When they stopped, Naruto went off to explore the surrounding area, tasting the tang of sea air on his tongue. He left them behind huddling at a fire, glad to experience the warmth and light. He would have sat there, staring into the fire so he could burn the cave's blackness out of his mind, but he was restless. He needed to move, had to experience living once more. His mind was working in circles, but he didn't care. Racing through the canopy of trees let him live. He felt at home here, crouching on a branch. He suspected it had something to do with the fox. It was so much a part of him now that he didn't get annoyed about it anymore. And company spent with Gaara for an entire year meant an entire year spent with another demon holder. A vessel. Gaara epitomised it, with his darkly lined eyes. But he himself was more deceptive, with his sunny expression. _Sunny_. The term bit into him harshly. He hated it. They'd fear him, not hate him, if only he looked more like Sasuke. Instead he was blonde and blue-eyed. And even his slender nine tails made him look cute and vulnerable. But Naruto was at peace with this. Fate, as he disdainfully termed it, had dealt him a harsh life. He'd make it better though. Nothing would stop him from doing so, not even a frigid Sasuke and a disappeared Konoha.

_Hihi!_

The small giggle crashed through his mind, made his ears literally perked as he swivelled on the branch. It was the giggle of a small child, but in this forest a small child laughing was nothing to be happy about. His entire body tensed, the line of his form perched to launch on the branch, aware suddenly of the leaves, the tree trunk and the moss on the tree.

_Hihi!_

The sound came again, and this time Naruto sprung into action, speeding downwards towards the ground at an alarming pace, following the vibrations. His ears pricked once more, and he felt the adrenalin rising, the rate of his heart tripling. He came to a sudden stop, and his life crashed to a halt. A small girl stood in front of him, clad in leggings and a loose brown shirt that hung down to her thighs. Her face streaked with dirt, dark brown hair tousled around her face, and amidst it all two green eyes swam in the middle. Naruto didn't need his instinct, his fox, to tell him something was wrong here. He didn't approach her, just watched her. The girl opened her mouth, but no note crept out. She raised her hand, waved, turned and ran back into the shadows. Naruto didn't follow. He knew better than to follow something like that. The anger rose in him. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. It was impossible to believe that this had happened again, despite the agreement. He glared down into the thicket she had run off into. They'd have to hunt her down. They owed it to her.

The encounter now over, the experience began to fade from his mind. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. There were monsters in the forest. All that mattered now was survival. He raced back towards the camp, the anger at this injustice pressing him on. He was dimly aware of the anger consuming him, burning as he stepped, of his sight turning red but being able to see. And he walked on.

As with most things, Gaara heard it before he saw it, before he smelt it. The sinister crackle of an unquenchable fire, then the red form, and with the southern winds the smell of burning leaves brought by black furls of smoke. But he didn't really notice the smell, because it was the red form burning, the red form with the swinging braid and the nine tails flickering that sent him into a rare panic, made him burst from the camp and call on all the possible sand he possessed and around him and throw it at the fox-boy. Because he was mad. And there was no point in talking to someone who didn't answer to their own name. Because when Naruto was in a state like this, he didn't answer to anyone. He simply killed. He simply hunted. He became an animal that shouted with impunity 'Try it on with me. Go on. Come on. Do it. _Try it_.' There was no point in arguing. And Gaara wasn't stupid enough to try and fight him, especially when he could just bury him – to a degree – in the earth and let him work out his fury. It could take days, Naruto's loss of temper came rarely, but when it did it came with the fury of the earth behind him, razing the very ground as he walked.

This was where Naruto's fear of small, confined spaces came from. Gaara kicked the guilt away from him. He was only doing what was necessary. He folded his arms together and made himself comfortable on the ground, concentrating on holding the sand in place. The Uchiha would be here shortly.

He dimly felt Naruto take his anger out on domed structure, but it barely bothered him. Instead he concentrated on the forest, feeling how it breathed, watching it with piercing observant eyes. A distinct lack of animals, and now that he noticed it above the failing hiss of the fire, the birds had gone silent. There was nothing else to do but wait. He watched the sun's dapples move across the ground in front of him, one slow pace at a time.

The billows of black smoke slowly died down to a trickle, playfully drifting in the still air. From time to time a dulled scream could be heard, but he ignored it, falling into his own consciousness.

Finally Sasuke arrives, pacing to a sullen halt at his side. Without looking, he knows the Sharingan is shining in his eyes, rotating slowly. He seems unperturbed, as if he came across something like this all the time. At least he wasn't making stupid assumptions. Not that he wouldn't mind kicking Sasuke's ass, just because. Gaara shook his head, worrying about the sudden thought to kill. It hadn't been there earlier. Was Naruto's intervention already fading away? He was oddly two sided about it, one part crowing in pleasure at the way it was already crumbling, as if Naruto could stop everything, and another part deeply disappointed. Was it too much to ask to be in control of his own body, without having a malignant influence?

"Explain." Sasuke rasped. He noticed now how his voice was always hoarse, weak with disuse. He had never been one for many words, but there had always been his smug and arrogant expression. Now it was a faint aftertaste that barely clung to him.

"He lost his temper. This way we are both safe." Gaara said simply. Sasuke regarded him with one calculated glance, assessing the truth and flippancy in his tone. It was an extremely serious situation, Naruto being in such a state, but he didn't dare voice it. Some things could only be dealt with lightly. And Sasuke knew this, as surely as he recognized the gravity of a furious Naruto. Sasuke sat down, settling himself next him. Close enough for a travelling team member you didn't know well, but far enough to move away if under attack. And from this vantage point he waited. Gaara calmly waited, idly considering whether he should just volunteer the information Sasuke wanted. They sat like this for an hour, both waiting for the other to speak, occasionally attention flickering to the dome of sand when a particularly loud bang sounded out.

Sasuke broke. He was used to the silence, but he wanted to know more than he wanted to wait Gaara out. And Gaara knew, so he didn't have to offer anything to him, he didn't owe him anything.

"This happened before." It was a statement, carefully crafted. Or so Sasuke hoped, but both their feelings and animosities were on show to each other, and this was merely a polite game. Sasuke was irritated. Partly because Gaara seemed too crude to understand the subtleties of it.

"On our year away he lost his temper. I'd never seen anything like it. It was the moment before he burst into flames, when I was trying to wrestle him to the ground, attempting to subdue him. In the end it was safer to bury him. His sudden strength is fuelled by anger. It makes sense it goes away when he calms down." Gaara lapsed back into a silence. He had offered, but he would wait for Sasuke to ask more. A small snort of anger could be heard to his left, shortly bit back by an irritated and ruffled Sasuke, Sharingan eyes glowering. Gaara nearly laughed out loud. Sasuke was still too frustrated by human company that it made him lose his composure. But laughing would have been a nuisance, Sasuke would have undoubtedly have thought to settle it with fists. Sasuke had given enough, and now Gaara would offer. He didn't know why he insisted on playing this game with Sasuke, but he found it amusing. He didn't find many things amusing, but this was one of them.

"When I was first given the mission; they told us to track her down. Nothing was said of hunting or killing, just tracking her down. We were supposed to bring her back, because she had stolen something. But it was more complex than that. Anything which involved the two of us would be more complex than taking down an audacious thief. We took it anyway. Mist Village, they told us what to expect, a girl verging on being a young woman holding a demon." Gaara paused, but it was a natural while he gathered his thoughts. Sasuke focused on a spot in front of him, but he listened intently. Gaara remembered walking into that village with Naruto walking beside him excitedly. They had both been young then, changed by the years after the Chuunin exams, but neither anticipated the huge change that this would bring them. And now they understood how shinobi must live. Now they understood how one experience could change a man completely. He did not tell this to Sasuke though, wanting to keep the feeling of stares and sun rays as they meandered to the accepted spot. Didn't really want to recall the Kage of the Mist smirking in satisfaction at some report. The realization that came later that it had been they who he had been smiling at bit hard.

"It took us three months to track her down. There were traces of her at first, clumsiness. Then she cottoned on. We took our time though, feeling we would tire a normal non-shinobi out within 4 weeks. As the first, and then a second month tracked by we began to think like shinobi. We distrusted everything. Drove ourselves to track her harder, faster. She became smarter too, and we struggled to keep up. Now when we saw her, there would be long keening sounds that shook bones, the kind heard in mourning sometimes. It echoed out across the forest." The description didn't do justice to the eeriness of a forest at night, still without life, then the screams piercing the peace, splintering his armour. It sounded like nothing on earth. The air held still and simultaneously erupted around them, but still they went on. Gaara couldn't help but shake his head at their own idiocy, thank luck that they were still alive.

"All of a sudden she came out to us, and in broken speech told us how _they_ had put it in her. She wasn't a thief, just an unlucky person they experimented on. The demon was trying to take her over, take control of her body. At first it was wining, but she was sharp. So damn sharp. She was soon fighting back, and after hearing something like that we sympathized with her. We started to head back to the Mist Village, intent on clearing up the misunderstanding, ready to seek help for her. We thought we could perhaps extract it."

"We must have been too late. She had said from the beginning, if she loses control completely we were to kill her no matter what. Said she couldn't bear to watch him use her body for his own work. It happened. She lost control late one night. All of a sudden food was abandoned while she tried her hardest to kill us. Two months of us trying to help her take back control disappeared in a single moment. We chased her away. The next day we resumed the chase, the hunt." Gaara took another moment to let his words sink in. He'd managed fine up until now controlling his own demon, keeping Shukaku in check. But he was being very active lately. This scared him, but he knew Naruto would do everything that had to be done. If he wanted it or not.

"Her speed triples. We're barely keeping up; all of a sudden we jump from the trees into her waiting arms and a fight. All is the same, but all of a sudden Naruto is changing. I barely notice it while I direct the sand to protect us both. Then there's a great explosion of light to my left and Naruto is in flames, large tufts emerging from them to denote the ears, his mane of blond hair growing out, and the tails. They sprout behind him. And he adjusts to it flawlessly. I guess that is what surprised me. He didn't waver for a single moment. Scared by the change, she runs." The forest is still now with the night setting in. And Naruto has finally calmed down, Gaara notices with relief.

Slowly he peels layers of sand away, wary in case the silence had betrayed him. The sand hovers hesitatingly around the area. Gaara could almost laugh at how well they suit each other. Fire smothered by Sand. Sand chased by Fire. An equal balance, but Sasuke was the variable between them. Made this trip _different_. With Naruto life had become normal. Two demon kids hunting another down. It had been, Gaara had to admit, _exhilarating_.

The last of the sand collapses without Gaara's chakra holding it up. Naruto emerges, naked, ignoring them both and stalking straight to the camp for a new set of clothes.

The dull red eyes promising destruction, death and chaos don't go unnoticed by the other two.

They sat down around a puff of fire, huddled close together. Not wanting to attract more animals or insects or demons. Naruto has already told them about the girl, the small girl standing in a forest screaming her demented laugh. Gaara has already made up his mind. Or rather, he's following Naruto, who has every intention of hunting her down. He didn't have to spell it out for Gaara; it was for Sasuke's benefit he said: "We are going to find her and put her out of her misery." And Sasuke agreed because he wasn't a fool. They'd drag him with him, and truth be told he was curious.

"She's still weak, unaware of her power, we can catch her before dawn if we hurry." Naruto explained, laying out the plan. Gaara would float overhead with sand, Naruto on ground, Sasuke going from tree to tree. In the dense forest it was the best way to cover a lot of ground, they'd come across her. Demons left an easy trail to follow once they took over. It was later, when they'd become accustomed, had the smartness of a thousand millennia behind them that they became a pain in the ass to track.

The air was sharp with the tang of the sea, with the cool flavour of night, the mint breath of trees whispering in the stillness. They ran in their respective places, following at first the ashes left by Naruto's path, then moving on into the thicket. Although they were moving in a team, the experience was singular and individual. They moved as one but with a separate awareness. And yet together. Everything, the confusion, the paranoia, suspicion, everything was left behind right now to do this mission. And Sasuke finally understood how Naruto trusted Gaara, how Gaara trusted Naruto despite their demons. They had to. Relied on each other's lives. It had been so long that it kept in bay mistrust and wariness that would reign when the mission was over. To the point where Gaara said 'Home' to Naruto. Sasuke shook his head. Thinking too much.

It didn't bother him. That's what Sasuke thought to himself, running along the branches of swaying pines and great oaks.

"Halt!" came Naruto's voice, echoing all the way to Gaara's ears. Sasuke's ears twitched in annoyance. He liked to come up on an enemy like this without giving them an opening. Not that it mattered, he didn't think – and it rubbed greatly – that he would be involved in this fight. But the Sharingan glittered in his pupils anyway. The trees were thick with leaves, but on the ground he could make out a small figure. Naruto had already descended into an offensive stance, but she stood there as if nothing in the world was wrong. She may not realise it, but her demon certainly would. Why was nothing happening? He heard the slow rustle of sand and the form of Gaara descend. He hopped down a few branches, prepared to launch himself into the fray if need be. Even though they had just moved as one, he knew he was too slow to play with demons.

What happened next Sasuke would never be sure of. He reckoned he blinked. He wasn't too sure, because it may have just been so fast he didn't actually register it, Sharingan or not. One second they were waiting for a hidden signal to begin, the next millisecond it was over and the girl lay decapitated and sans a heart.

He hadn't done that to Itachi.

He supposed that is why he wasn't a demon.

He didn't know if to clap or be sickened.

He settled on stoically disapproving.

He was glad he didn't play.

"That's done." Naruto's voice reached him, loitering with intent at his ears, mocking him. He suddenly understood. They were both A-class demons who were A-class shinobi who had succeeded in separating their humanity and killer nature. Were able to switch it on and off. Was this the same boy who had demanded he come home?

Naruto was the man who kissed him. He wasn't a boy. No boy could have become this. He had been formed by family and tragedy and vengeance and he was nothing like them.

"We move east."

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**AN**: Another half-chapter. I'm trying to post at least once a week, around the weekend. I don't want to lose the momentum!**EDIT**: I changed my mind halfway through the rest of the chapter, so here's the rest of it. The breaks keep on changing on me….

Kirby: Lol, thanks, I try.  
Lady Frisselle: Thanks for being such a loyal reviewer, makes me feel great to know it :)  
Tsugath: To be honest with you I haven't quite sorted NaruSasu/SasuNaru in my mind. I have a vague plan, but it is getting there that takes some time. I hope things become clearer as the story goes on, but do poke me if I'm being too obscure...  
TFI-Muse: Hehe, thanks a lot!  
Chineselaquer: Just...Wow. Thanks so much your review, possibly one of the most comprehensive and longest reviews I've ever seen on   



	7. Chapter 5 this is war

**The Little Things  
****by starapple (martinique)**

**AN**: If you didn't notice, I added the last part of chapter 4 to it instead of making a new chapter. You may want to go back and read it, lol. Sorry about that, but it had to be done.

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**Chapter 5 – this is war**

They went on like this for a few days, coming across another girl, then two twin boys. All easily dispatched by their flawless teamwork. He was left sitting on the fringes of their battles, catching flickers. Training under Orochimaru had been hard, difficult, tiring because he never had a chance to rest, but he was sure that his speed in the last few days had improved. Nowhere near theirs, but it was an improvement, even as he fought through the pain in his calves. Walking was easy. But hopping from branch to branch took stamina they had bucket-loads of. He had only what he came with. It shocked him to think how much they had all grown. Well, how much Naruto had grown. Gaara still mainly used his sand techniques to overcome his enemy, not giving them a chance to get close and hurt him.

They had passed an empty village, devoid of all live. This one though did have some life left, but it was at the end of its tether. The roads were dusty from disuse, but they could hear voices in the centre. The place where all the food was stocked, a primitive granary, was doubling as a kind of salon for four old grizzled men. They looked happy, but didn't fit into their surroundings. As if they should have been on the street, begging for money. Their dirty faces but clean clothes didn't compliment each other. They were idly playing cards, pouring another bottle of liquor into tall glasses. It was clear that they were permanent drunkards. They still hadn't noticed three young men at their front door, blocking the sunlight.

Sasuke stepped into the room, letting the heel of his foot resound firmly on the dark floorboards. Four sets of eyes stared blearily at them, too stunned to be intimidated. The air stank, heaving with the fumes of fermented grains.

"Where is the rest of this village?" The men looked at him, frowning a little.

"Who are you?"

"We are searching for a village. Where is everyone?" Sasuke ground out, wanting an answer as quickly as possible so they could move on. Gaara and Naruto lurked just out of sight.

"They left in a hurry. Villages further to the west been disappearing, as if sometin be smoking 'em out." One man flippantly gave out, eyeing his cards with casual disdain while studiously ignoring him. He was surprised the slur to their voices wasn't more pronounced.

"Why are you still here then?"

"Isn't it obvious? Boys want to share a drink with us?" Sasuke didn't mind dirt, but drinking with it was something else again. And it was obvious to him, all of a sudden. They were old men, probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with the others, and without any family to take care of them they had decided to stay put in the village and be rich for the last few months of their lives. Sasuke was about to turn down their offer when Naruto stepped into the room, going straight for the table. He let his tails twitch behind him, drawing their eyes immediately. Sasuke sighed. This was one thing better left to him. He wouldn't be surprised if one of the men had a heart attack, but to their credit they cowered in their seats. Naruto fixed them with a cold glare, pinning them down into their rickety chairs.

"What is making the villages leave." It wasn't a question as much as a statement demanding answers. This confused him because answers followed questions, but Naruto wasn't one for logic so Sasuke supposed it didn't apply to him. The table quietened, stilled even more than it had before.

"People…people talk…talk of demons and monsters killing whole villages. Since then, they been running."

"How long have you been here." Again, a non-question. Naruto was imperious and tall with his speech, surprising him.

"9 months, is it?" the man looked for reassurance amongst his friends. They all looked ready to beg for their lives. Sasuke had to applaud their common sense. Naruto frowned for a moment – the men looked stricken – turned around and headed for the door.

"We are staying the night. Do not bother us." he remarked casually over his shoulder. As if four old men would bother them. And they hadn't even seen Gaara's blood hair and dark eyes, which would drive that notion out of any normal person.

They settled in a flat with a bed. It was the first bed he'd seen since they'd left Konoha a while back, but it still took him a moment to adjust to the sight of one. The mattress was old – the reason why it had been left – but sturdy. It gave in to their weight as they settled down to rest. Sleep took them easily while Gaara kept watch.

Eight hours later they were up again, well-rested. Gaara looked them over. Sasuke quickly left, no doubt packing up rations or checking the perimeter or doing something useful. Naruto stayed put, waiting for him to leave so that they could talk. He never imagined waiting for Sasuke to leave to have a conversation with Gaara, but it went to show how much life could change. The door closed with a gentle bang, shuddering in the door frame.

Gaara waited for a moment, sorting out his thoughts. But Naruto beat him to it.

"You want to find your village, am I right?"

"Yes. I need to make sure…." Gaara had no real attachment to his village, no strong bond of love other than the one Temari forced on him, but because he was human he wanted to protect it, because that is what they did. Once upon a time he wouldn't have batted an eyelid if someone informed him his village was gone, but now the thought of it pained him. Too much time spent with Naruto, who was nodding slowly.

"…that they are there, I know, I understand." He said. Gaara smiled, the hammering beat in his chest calming.

"It's your entire fault."

"I'll take the blame." Naruto was still nodding, but absently, figuring things out in his mind, working them over, checking for cracks. "I'll miss you." He concluded.

"If they are still there, I'll be back, I promise. I mean, they are in a desert…most demons wouldn't go out there willingly. You'd have to know where our village is if you wanted to stand a chance in reaching it."

"What if it isn't there?"

"Then I'll have to find them. And once I've found them, I'll find you."

"If I find Konoha before you come back, I'll find you." Naruto said, fiercely, touched by Gaara's promise. They were the closest of friends, acting in a heartbeat. A silence descended between them, pushing them to act. Thinking too much and not thinking at all he brought Gaara into his arms, hugging him tightly. The other had his arms around his waist, burying his nose in Naruto's flak jacket. "Get hurt by one of those demon wannabe kiddies and I'll kick your ass." He warned menacingly. Gaara chocked back a laugh. He didn't know why because laughter around Naruto was good and easy. He extracted himself from the tight embrace, losing the heat and warmth Naruto had offered. He would stay here forever with Naruto if he could, but his duties as a Sand shinobi called.

"Till later, Naruto."

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**AN:** In terms of liking and disliking certain chapters so far, this one has to be my least favourite. Meh. It seems to lack something... if anyone happens to spot what it is and would like to point it out to me, feel free:)


	8. Chapter 6 take this home, make them won...

** The Little Things**

By **starapple **(a.k.a. **martinique**)

**

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Chapter 6 – take this home, make them wonder**

Sasuke watched Gaara leave town, gathering ammunition of sand as he went, letting it slosh around behind his feet, and inexorably closing down on his village. He slung the water bag over his shoulder, letting it dangle with every step he took. It was like watching a mountain in action, a rolling wave of water pounding down to shred into warm skin with razor sand.

Sasuke shook his head, wondering. Was everything back to normal now? Would he and Naruto fall back into their earlier years? His lips quirked in a grim line, laughing at his own foolishness. Unlikely. Naruto had made it clear that he didn't trust him anymore, that he cared nothing for what he could say.

And he'd been so angry; he'd blamed Naruto & Gaara for Konoha. And it was so stupid and unlike him that he'd felt manipulated. And he had blamed that on them too. It was his fault, in the first place. Going off and hunting for power. His own power, enough to destroy the thing that had murdered his family. Now what? He was searching for Konoha, and it struck him that he'd wasted five years of his life. Time spent with Orochimaru and spent killing Itachi he'd never get back. That he couldn't boast about to someone without their inevitable disgust. He needed someone who could understand him.

This all went against the grain. He picked up his bag and eased it onto his back, moving steadily back to the ran-sacked house. He didn't need anyone, and he told himself this again and again, trying futilely to believe it. But he couldn't. It wasn't that he needed someone, he wanted someone. Someone who could understand everything he was, could tell him where he was going wrong.

He blamed all of it on Itachi. Now that he was dead, now that the goal was reached he had nothing else to aim for, and it was making him weak. It was making him think of Naruto as a friend, rather than a fellow shinobi. Which was stupid because half a decade was too long to pretend nothing had ever happened, that their rivalry was still just friendly and not deadly the way it had been.

The curse seal that was no longer itched on his shoulder, reminding him of relentless training, of being pushed hard, sleep-deprived. Being monitored, never a moment of privacy. All of it for the sake of preparing his body –he for Itachi, they for Orochimaru. He'd been smart enough to evade punishment, but they had never really tried to lay a mark on him, knowing who he would be one day.

He shook the thoughts away, pushing open the door to see Naruto glare at him.

"What?" he asked, momentarily taken aback by the fervent hate in his eyes.

"Nothing." The eyes softened, the voice flattened to a weary sound. A slight pause, then a rousing sigh. "Gaara has left."

"Okay." He turned to close the door, shrugging off the bag to lay it by the door. Easy quick steps followed the screech of a chair, and Sasuke felt Naruto's presence at his back.

"We have to get along, if this is going to work." Naruto came to stand in front of him, tails dancing behind him, shy fangs bared. He wanted to know how soft those tails were, how much they could bend against bone.

He looked through and into Naruto, weighing him up, wondering if he was mad enough to play a game of chance, to gamble a rare confession on the boy. He wasn't as quick to play as Naruto. His fist tightened at his side, a quick sign of undecided stress.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke said, hoping that it sounded like an apology, that the flat tone to his ears wasn't what Naruto heard. Naruto's pupils widened for a moment, taking in all possible light in which to see Sasuke with. One who was avoiding eye contact by the slightest millimetre – hard to tell with the darkness and the swirling Sharingan distorting space. But he knew.

Sasuke noticed the shock, and then the rising anger.

"It's a bit late." Naruto spat out, fangs clamped down on pink lips. The gesture was nice, but he wasn't stupid. It was too late, and how could he forgive him for leaving when they had long passed the time to apologise for something like that?

"I know. But…" he trailed off, letting Naruto fill in the gaps between their speech as he had done when they were younger. Because Naruto could still tell very well what went on in his mind, but how to explain how much had changed? Before they had experienced life together, as Team 7 – his mind drifted towards Sakura, but he ruthlessly quashed thoughts of her, he had to concentrate on the here and now.

"You had to kill him. I understand that. Honestly, I do. In the same way I wanted to drag you back, and need to protect Konoha. I understand. But Orochimaru, Sasuke? Of all the low-down rotten people you could have chosen, why him?"

"He already wanted me. It was easy to act as if I had fallen beneath his mental manipulations, and adjust to life there. I left when he decided I was ready, which was at the first opportunity he had to change bodies. After he removed the curse seal, and I killed him I ran for all I was worth and slipped into a town, staying long enough to rest and eat. Leaving to find another place. When nothing came after me I started looking for Itachi." Sasuke explained himself, standing in front of Naruto and looking off over his shoulder.

He was lost in his thoughts again, but the words poured out of his mouth, explaining to Naruto how he had found Itachi. How they had, civilly, walked out of the town and a few miles south of the town. Away from civilization, and there they decayed, the place where there was only one commandment, the place where only the strongest survived. Nothing else counted in that moment. He looked deep into Itachi's eyes, staring without fear, noting the consternation in his brother's eyes when he didn't cringe. The years spent with Orochimaru were suddenly worth their weight in gold, to see a perfect frown disturb the floating picture of his brother's face. And as soon as it came and as soon as they reached a field – such a beautiful field full of flowers and pollen and seeds and grass, a field full of colours that glinted idly in the sunshine, blinking up at the sky – a beautiful field where shuriken sang and kunai flew, where blood splattered and soaked the ground.

They changed the landscape.

He didn't know when the battle posture changed, but from taijutsu they faded into illusions, and when those were broken by the strength of their minds, ninjutsus were the test. Fire, water, ice, stone and earth created instant environments in which they fluidly moved, a dance full of attacks, defences, counterattacks and positioning. His anger had faded into a cold awareness that left his brother reeling. He was testing himself against his older brother, to see who would win this tragedy. And his brother was losing more blood, but so was he, breath panting harshly as he struggled to remain upright and quiet, a kunai in each hand.

How his brother had slipped up in a complicated ninjutsu – or rather, he hadn't, but he could see how it was going to end because he'd used it himself a countless number of times to catch his training partners off-guard. He dove through the illusion fire, a kunai in his hand finding a crimson home in his chest (the sound of bones cracking under its strength would never leave him), looking up to see the shock on his brothers face, to see a wistful smile form. He hated that smile, and the way the eyes dulled and his rushed through with energy, directing their hate at his brother as he punched his face in, steel plates on his knuckles finding their target with instinctive accuracy.

It was night when he stepped away from the body, unable to feel anything but Nothing at all of this. He handled his wounds, tying strips of cloth around them. Then went back to the village, bought a shovel. Went back. Dug a hole. Tipped his brother into the eviscerated earth. Sang no songs, spoke no words, chucked the warm and silky earth on his brother. Turned North, and made his way back to his hotel room.

Naruto didn't interrupt him as he spoke, but his posture softened, he seemed to lean towards him, wanting to do something that involved touching and comfort and understanding. He focussed on the pile of sand next to the bed, wondering how life ever became this complicated.

They stood like that, in silence. Until Naruto was too tense and shuffled on his feet, taking a simple step forwards and back that brought them out of their thoughts and back into the here and now that shimmered between them.

"Why did you attack us?" Naruto asked, trying to sound hard but the voice betrayed his anxiety, the whine bitten off behind fangs that promised swift deaths. Sasuke looked up and into Naruto's eyes, watching the blue deepen into the colour of the sea. The reluctance spread between them, teetering dangerously.

"Everyone was gone." The confession came, but held one thing back. The thing that lay between them now, a dark bitterness in the shape of a sand shinobi, one that glittered with green eyes and blood hair. _And you were with him_. But he hadn't seen Gaara until he attacked. He never made a move, didn't touch him. But he fought against sand that protected Naruto, the corns digging deeply into his hand, into his face as he broke through barricades. They had both improved – Gaara was stronger with his sand, he was faster and had more stamina.

"If you're coming back you have to learn to trust." Naruto passed the wisdom to him idly, uncaring whether he accepted or not. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"They are going to put a leash on you the moment you step through the gates." Naruto's eyes flattened, and for a distinct moment Sasuke wondered whether that was wise, especially in that tone of disdain and self-righteousness when they both knew Konoha hated Naruto and would undoubtedly have problems. And all of this was indeed the wrong way to go about those kind of things because he had his back to the wall and a hand to his throat with nails pressing warningly into soft flesh. He felt his heartbeat accelerate under rough hands that were warm, then hot with life. Red eyes looked into his, then shifted back into blue, flickering between the two as Naruto sought to find control and Sasuke wished Gaara hadn't left. All of half a day and he could be dead any moment right now. If he ever thought Naruto, hand-to-hand was a definite no-no. He'd have to do it with Shikamaru's smarts and a whole set of Forbidden Jutsus. He held his breath, not wanting to antagonise Naruto further.

The hand loosened, the body moved forward, keeping him pinned in place as the hand moved behind his neck, pulling him towards his mouth. Taking the aggression out on him with passion. And Sasuke responded, a curling tongue allowed entry, a hand that drifted down his thigh, up to his buttocks where it squeezed and massaged. He ran his tongue over fangs and felt alive, felt a frisson of excitement run through him – darkly flirting with danger that shook him to the core. His hands hung limply at his side while he let Naruto plunder him harshly, taking anything he hid, wanting none of what he offered – and what did he offer?

A set of pearly white teeth bit at his jaw, nibbling down to his neck where they sucked damply, tasting with delight the movement of blood beneath the skin. Their bodies rocked together, seeking a delight they hadn't tasted in a long time. A growl of content rang deep in Naruto's chest, blossoming on pale skin which throbbed in reply. His anger and passion subsided in the face of reality, and he pushed away from Sasuke, leaving him limp-fisted, ravaged against the wall, the door on his left.

"We've both changed, but it hasn't been enough. You're still an asshole." Sasuke resisted the urge to touch fingers to his lips. Instead narrowing his eyes at the other boy – _man _– _boy_ and allowing a humourless grimace to sit on his face, Sharingan eyes hiding turbulence. Treacherous waters. He found his voice, testing it in his mind, swallowing to find his strength.

"Tomorrow we resume the search for Konoha. I'll take first watch." Sasuke spoke, the voice steady and firm as it rang between them. He opened the door and left the flat, finding a suitable vantage point to settle down in, steady in the depths of shadows. His mind flew around the kiss and the now and what would happen later? This was just stress and his own fault for baiting the other man. Always baiting Naruto. As if he were an animal when he was a demon.

But they had played together when they were children. Children at play being adults while serious children. They matured too fast and too slow and no one had told him that demons knew how to kiss.

* * *

**LazEbum**: I have plans! Plans! 

**Lady-Frisselle**: Hehe, Mr. Snakey-Ninja! I like it, I keep typing Orochimary instead of Orochimaru. Makes him sound like some kind of model/singer. I'm going to have to keep a few cards to myself just in case I need to use it later to dazzle ya'll while I shift attention away from some other glaring error.

**Tenshi-Kaitou**: Thy wish is my command. Sorry about the delay, but I was ill and had zero inspiration (and only 800 words…).

**Chineselaquer**: I'm going to agree with you. The approach on that particular chapter was very different to the others and I had trouble reconciling it with the style I used throughout the other chapters. Naja, learning curve.

**Kirby**: Obsession isn't healthy!  But thanks for the ueber-compliment, and I'll try to be more graphic in the future (well, depending on where the characters take me…)

**Aznquill**: Thanks for such a personal response, I don't find it strange or weird, in fact I'm totally flattered. You and Chineselaquer both picked up on the shift, thanks a lot for pointing it out. It was driving me wild the first few times I re-read it. I was rather impatient with the chapter and writing when I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be doing so. Thanks again for the review!


	9. Chapter 7 these are signs of life

**The Little Things**

_By starapple (Martinique)_

**Chapter 7 – these are signs of life**

Days rolled over and nights fell into place between them as they moved towards the sea, over mountains towards sands that touched fierce waters. The pace was fast, the company still and stilted, pointed silences the beat to which they marched.

The first signs of life came a brief moment in the shape of a meadow nestled in the midst of an ancient forest. A forest so shot through with old age that it hummed with it, the pine clean and mint with the support of millennia. The meadow spoke of mystical meetings done in secret under cover of night, when only stars witnessed behind veils of cloud.

In the middle were eight markers set into the ground, chiseled obsidian letters shone out. They read the words in panic, neither daring to speak. For a village trying to get lost, these were obvious markers. Their minds folded over the conclusion that Konoha must be alive and safe somewhere with everyone they knew and loved, because they didn't have a marker right here and now. That Konoha must be close by, and yet far away.

They didn't spare time to mourn over the fallen. They didn't recognize the names. They weren't shinobi. And even as part of Konoha, it didn't count for anything with _them_ if you weren't a shinobi. Naruto lifted, tiptoeing, his nose tasting the air. The smell of sea came to him, drifting in lazy clouds over them. He lifted a hand and gestured towards the sea.

They stepped from the meadow into more forest, the never-ending forest which curled around them, held them in its protective grasp. The stillness of the trees set them on edge, the light that suddenly erupted ahead of them as they exited the forest for the last time and came on a large stretch of land devastated. Trees that had names and histories had been chopped down, leaving their roots bared to the sky.

"Ships. Fucking ships. I should have guessed Tsunade would do something like this." Naruto ground out, the lightness of the fox urging away from the expanse of water.

Away from the damp cover of life and leaves, away from the hold of mother earth and matrix soil they stood bared in the rising dawn at the beach, the wind whipping sand and salt into their faces. If Naruto concentrated just a little, rose that little higher into the air on his toes, if he forced away his current location and focused the sensation of sand into his mind he could almost conjure up a living body of Gaara. His eyes closed for a brief moment, taking the risk of vulnerability to feel alive and _here_. The sun rose behind him, he could feel the gloss of its heat fall over him.

"Island." Sasuke's voice whispered. Naruto cracked open, slitting his eyes at Sasuke who stoically stood, hands loose at his sides but ready to strike. The balance was shifting again, and he adjusted accordingly. Blue eyes flickered to the horizon, to the left where an island jutted out proudly from the depths of the ocean.

"Fuck." Naruto was in bad temper. Sasuke turned to face the ocean, making derogatory comments about leaving an obvious trail.

"It doesn't matter. A demon doesn't really want to go all the way out there just to kill people. They are quite happy to control a huge chunk of continent and hunt game all day." Naruto commented, turning back inland. The forest tugged at him, trying to garner a smile. It lost, the line in his face set into a grim tone.

A few days later, stripped down to trousers rolled up to their knees, they paddled the boat-thing out to the open sea. It was a calm day, the strapped logs sat in the water comfortably. The empty bottles secured underneath it kept it up. Naruto had gone back to get them from the last village while Sasuke chopped trees with chakra.

Even as they worked, Naruto couldn't quite concentrate. He was excited at the prospect of seeing everyone again, but he couldn't help wonder how Gaara was faring. If his village was okay, even if he didn't care. He understood Gaara, more than Sasuke. It made sense, he had spent so much time with Gaara and they had fought together so easily, making it look like a show in which they danced through forests and open fields, sands threatening and fires burning.

With irritation he pushed down the residual fear of water left by the great fox. He didn't know why it even played on his mind, he was strong enough to swim to the island. The wetness on his thighs played on his mind, and still, instinctually he shied away from it, clambering onto the boat. The silence between them was grating on his mind like a wet saw that refused to give up. Naruto crouched down on the back of the boat, making himself comfortable while Sasuke sat down at the front. Dawn had long graced them, now the sun shone down on them at an angle, yet to reach its apex.

He let his hands dangle in the water, his trousers drying in the air and sunshine while he pushed chakra through his hands in short gasps that propelled the boat forward. He would demand some help, just to make it fair and share the burden, but he could imagine the look of disdain Sasuke would give him. Naruto snickered then, audibly. Sasuke probably didn't have the strength or stamina to power the boat.

It was a calm and peaceful day, and the sun gently warmed their bodies, giving them a chance to rest for the first time since they had left Konoha.

"What are we going to do, Naruto?" Sasuke called back, having to shout over the rush of water. His voice had strengthened with usage, and yet it sounded alien in his mouth. Then again, they both sounded different, voices having broken while they were both gone from each other. Just another sign that they had changed too much to reconcile the differences.

"Hope they welcome us." Naruto shrugged out. If they tried to lock him up because of the tails he'd be pissed off. "We'll creep in and go straight to Tsunade." He paused in his thoughts. "We? Suddenly we?" he bit out, fangs glinting wet white in the light.

"I've been gone for 5 years, should be a missing-nin…. You know what I mean."

"I know that Tsunade is going to kick your ass. But 'we' implies we're going to help each other. Are we?" Naruto dug back to the original question.

"It makes sense, right?" Sasuke said, as if it explained all and was a perfectly good answer. Naruto took it anyway, because behind all the semantics, it was a promise to help each other. Escape if necessary.

"Fine. We'll take our cue from their actions, run if necessary and hide. Together."

Sasuke grunted an affirmative, then asked, "Can you do something about those tails?" the tails twitched. Short of pulling them out, there was nothing he could do about it. Or wanted to do about it. It had hurt so much for them to come, but in the middle of a battle you never really notice those kinds of things, and the pain at the base of his spine had been a dull throb for many weeks before it disappeared.

"Pretend they are part of my costume?" Naruto lamely quipped, giving a short bark of laughter that faded into the uncomfortable silence.

"We'll go in when night falls."

"Because going in during daytime was what we had planned all along." The sardonic reply made Sasuke smirk, but neither really noticed it. The coastline beckoned, and Sasuke swept it with his eyes, looking for any guards. He didn't seriously expect to see any guards, that would mean Konoha had slackened and he doubted Tsunade would allow it.

"Just checking, dobe." The name rolled off his lips, a reminder of time lost and long passed. There was a split second of silence, too long and too much, making him wonder if this was still too new and too bitter.

"Whatever, teme." The reply finally came, but Sasuke noted how the deep voice didn't match the enraged scream of a younger Naruto. He stared at the island, growing moment by moment.

"Another half hour and we'll land at the beach."

They stashed the boat under thick dense brush, making their way up the mountain range. It would make sense for the new Konoha to be on the other side of the mountain, down in the valley where there might be a river. Either way, the land is more fertile there, the foam of soil thick with nutrients that could support two harvests a year. They trekked down the side of the hill, avoiding guards, catching glimpses of a town under furious construction through the canopy of trees. The climate was like the one they had left, but warmer, hotter, more humid. And yet the sea breeze kept it at a bearable temperature. It didn't smell of Konoha, and it never would.

Sasuke wondered where his riches, his land and heritage was now. If it hadn't been taken from him. The thought suddenly panicked him. He didn't have the focus of Itachi to concentrate his energies in anymore.

Naruto sported a grim smile. To him, it was Konoha rearranged. The reached the edge of the jungle-forest and looked towards the new gates that framed and contained a village under construction. They circled it, taking it in from all sides, estimating the location of Tsunade's office. Under the cover of night they'd be able to find it, no matter what.

They settled back into the forest, climbing up a dense tree for cover. Naruto dangled his feet idly, looking back towards the village. A part of him was tense, wondering what would happen next, almost sick with anticipation as the acid snaked its way up his throat, a reminder that he hadn't eaten properly for days. Sasuke was on another branch, suddenly feeling unimaginably alone.

"The land…" he whispered, "how do you think they've given it away?" there was an anxiety in his voice. There was a gap in his consciousness, the one that had demanded he kill Itachi for the sake of his clan, in honour of it. Protecting the dead as best as he could. Naruto savoured the moment. He leant up towards the other man, giving him a light smile.

"Don't worry baby, you can live with me." He laughed, winking suggestively at Sasuke who glared at him. And yet Naruto's muted hoarse laugh fled through his system, bringing up the heat of bruising kisses against his lips.

"No thanks, you have bad habits."

"Ouch."

"I saw the Uchiha Estate in Konoha, but I never took a good look at it. They haven't done anything to it, right?"

"Don't worry. In the old Konoha your land was all intact and in your name. How things are now… well, it depends."

"Hmm."

They let the time fall over them until the night drew over them like a shadow, thick and cloying, hidden in the depths they advanced on the fortifications. They jumped the fences, wary of watchtowers and cycling guards. They passed into the town with no problems, fading like ghosts into the woodwork. The town was wild and full of the dust of construction. As he watched a tiny furl of dust curl into the midnight air, almost opaque, Naruto thought of Gaara. A tiny movement to the left of him made him draw back into the shadows, stilling Sasuke who was behind him.

The shadow moved on, not having heard them. A smile quirked on his lips as they continued to break and enter. He'd have words with Tsunade when they got there. They crept around buildings until they hit the market square. A large brick building stood at the head of the trodden down ground. It had clearly been built to last, and yet an air of temporariness hung around it. Two shinobi stood at the front, chuunin. They looked at them from the depths of the shadows, trying to decide if they recognized them.

They fled back into the surrounding buildings, working their way up to the building from the back, circling, assessing, finding the weak point. An open shot could not be found. The building was too new, and therefore a brick building with two windows and an open door really didn't leave them too many open points.

"Okay, new plan." Naruto whispered furiously. "We rush the front under cover of a few genjutsu and hope no one notices us until we're under Tsunade's protection."

"Mine or yours?" Sasuke asked, assessing the situation by sweeping them with a Sharingan glance, calculating possibilities.

"I hate to say it, but yours have always been more effective." Naruto grinned, adrenalin rushing through him.

"Thanks."

"You first." Sasuke swapped with Naruto, taking point.

"Count to five, then follow me." He whispered.

"Trust me, you'll need ten, otherwise I'll run you down." Sasuke sighed.

"Sure." Sasuke prepared himself to sprint around the corner and up, hands linked ready to start the seals for his favourite genjutsu.

"See you inside." Naruto called, watching Sasuke take off. He counted down steadily, the old kunai-technique guiding him. The blood in his veins pounded, rushing around his ears. He sprang into action, rushing down the pavement and into the building noting dimly the chuunin who stood frozen, captured in the illusion Sasuke had spun. He had always been very good at those. His had been too dramatic, without any of the proper symbolism, too charged with chakra. Sasuke had the sophistication for such work.

Sasuke was waiting for him in front of the second set of doors that lead to the Hokage's room. He gave him a questioning look, clearly wondering what had taken him so long.

"Come off it. Let's go." He stalked through the doors, belatedly noticing the desks that had been in the other room. He was too tightly sprung, waiting to get in. But it had been worth it. A sleeping Tsunade woke suddenly, eyes narrowing as she came to in a world where two ghosts she had thought long lost had come to life. "Hello Tsunade-sama." Sasuke bent stiffly at his side. Her eyes narrowed, and Naruto wondered if this was good or bad or possibly worse.

"Who are you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke on my left, last member of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha, and I am Uzumaki Naruto. Come on Tsunade, we are not illusions. We are real, hungry, kind of worried you're going to throw us in jail…." Naruto blathered on, anxiety setting in when faced with her. He hadn't seen her in over a year. "Gaara was nice and might be coming here. Oh, and don't sign me up for anymore missions, because I'm really tired and want to sleep for the next five years."

"Shut up Naruto." Sasuke ground out. He focused on Tsunade, who now stood, fists clenched. "We are who we say we are. We don't intend to do anything, but if we are harmed we will fight back with all of our strength. Can we stay?"

"One loud, the other arrogant. I suppose all those years away really haven't changed either of you. Where did you get those tails, and your hair is so long now…. You've both grown." A smile settled on her face as she spoke, but adopted a grimmer line as she continued. "You're both going to be under arrest until all of this is sorted out and you've explained yourselves to the council." She held up her hand to stall any arguments. "I'm sorry, but it has to be done properly, even though I know my boys and know you've done nothing wrong." She motioned for them to sit.

"You haven't aged at all, baa-chan."

"Yeah yeah. Welcome home, kids."

* * *

**AN:** I'm so ill right now. I hate coughs and colds, London is too cold for my liking. If this chapter seems weird, blame the medicines I'm doped up on.  
**Chineselaquer:** Ah, please don't, I'm always happy when I get a review! Lol, no, I'll leave it up to you.  
**TFI-Muse:** I can't say if I'm going to accomodate you or not. I haven't quite made my mind up what exactly is going on in this story romance wise. Hell, I'm playing around with this story more than anything else, and in many respects 'yaoi' isn't quite the right thing to term what Naruto & Sasuke are doing. It's deeper, more psychological than that. shrug. But I'm a fan of both GaaNaru and SasuNaru/NaruSasu, so who knows where this will go! (be happy though; Gaara will be back.)  
**Tenshi-Kaitou:** Fast enough? Lol, the hottness of those two is somewhat unearthly. Kind of reminds me of Squall/Zell from FF8 (those were the days!). I have a thing for blondes & brunettes. Or blondes and redheads - I'm a shipper of good ol' Irvine/Zell. 


	10. Chapter 8 you keep pushing

** The Little Things**

By **starapple** (**Martinique**)

**Disclaimer**: Characters don't belong to me. Just playing with them.

**AN**: I lost my plan. It's upset me a little, but I think in a way it is for the best. I've adjusted where I was going with this story a touch, and the plan would have hindered it if I stuck with it. I'm predicting another 5 chapters after this, if they are all of a similar length. Which brings us to Chapter 8, I hope you guys enjoy it and found it worth the wait. My longest chapter yet with a little over 5000 words!

* * *

**Chapter 8 – you keep pushing**

"Oh this is so much fun. Why did we come back again?" Naruto asked, flopping down on his bunk with a long-suffering sigh. Sasuke noted how much he was talking now that they were back, completely and totally relaxed in his surroundings. The change in Naruto was traceable, measurable.

"The food."

"Don't remind me, seems Ramen isn't the cheapest food out there if this prison slop is anything to go by." He grinned weakly.

"Get some sleep."

"Chill out Sasuke. We are in Konoha now, nothing will happen." Naruto saw how even Sasuke had tired of leaning against the only free wall space on the other side of the reinforced steel bars and had settled, grudgingly, onto the cement floor. Also reinforced. Naruto laughed to himself at Sasuke's refusal to sit on the fairly comfortable mattress, supported on flatbed wires hung parallel to the wall. Not that it mattered, between the two of them they could still blow this cell to bits, but everyone knew that. They had the patience to stay for the time being.

"Exactly. Get some sleep." Sasuke ground out.

"Don't be so moody. We are Home." Naruto smiled to himself, turning onto his back on the upper bunk, tracing the ceiling with his finger absently. The patterns he created flowed from one into another fluidly, without conscious control.

"You and fucking Home." Sasuke muttered to himself. He should have known better to even breathe the thought, the hand stilled to a point, the finger retracted, creating a fist. He could imagine the heat in that fist, zeroing up to a fiery furnace. Made him wonder why he harassed the other man.

"You make it sound as if I'm the only one glad to be back." Naruto said, softly. He shifted on the bed, turning onto his stomach to look over the edge down on the sulking black-haired man. His tails wove a complex pattern behind him.

"Didn't say I wasn't. Just not crowing about it all the time." Sasuke held his breath, his heart hammering weakly.

"Stop it already. I'm tired." The bright cheerfulness left Naruto abruptly; his voice carried the average of two conflicting minds merged, a deep ancient voice resonating with his last words. His mind went over the difficulties they would probably have. He'd have to readjust to a new intensity in the staring. After so long with so few people, the crowds made him skittish, longing for free open land he could run across, in search of a den buried under the roots of great trees.

Sasuke obeyed, but it was with a measured smugness that left no doubt in Naruto's mind that Sasuke had somehow gotten more out of the exchange. Even if he was submitting easily. Naruto wondered idly if Sasuke liked to piss people off deliberately or if he was the only one he actually truly bothered to toy with.

His thoughts turned to the people they had left behind. The faces crowded into his mind, their expressions smudged, but their hair, their mannerisms were intact in the dark shadows his mind conjured as the background. Sakura and her pink hair stood out, but there, amongst the sea of faces stood Iruka, Kakashi and Jirairya. Watching him. He didn't like the sudden merging of this people, of a group he cherished that darkened in his mind, judging, demanding, requiring of him explanations he could not begin to offer.

He wanted to see them. Desperately almost, to be so close and yet so far away frustrated him. He threw himself onto his back, irritated at how much his tails still gave away about his thoughts. He could learn to control them. He watched them, focusing on them, controlling the instinct to simply sway around prettily.

As he trained the instinct out his thoughts turned to Iruka. They had said goodbye the night before he left on his mission. The night had been clear, filled with stars that twinkled desperately for a reply from the depths of another galaxy. He held the man, who'd kept his spirits up throughout the years spent alone, in high regard. He'd search him out first…and then perhaps Sakura. Kakashi would undoubtedly show up in his own time.

A man he still didn't understand. Even after spending so much time with him, he clothed himself in black, which hid more than a lean figure. Shrouded in secrets that clung to him like funerary incense. A sort of pathetic farcical figure, laughing and joking with an eye that hid and showed the only visible signs of pain and utter mental trauma that made a man.

He didn't really understand Kakashi. There were the outside details anyone could understand, reasoning Kakashi's behaviour encouraged and confirmed. But it led to no satisfying conclusion regarding his inner behaviour.

Naruto abandoned his thoughts, glad to have made some of his tails behave. That'd distract them, if they noticed them at all. Most of the council they were going to meet were… old. Out of touch with new psychology and all that. Naruto smiled grimly, flexing fangs. And they always thought he didn't understand. Not that he didn't encourage….

Naruto frowned.

Perhaps he understood Kakashi a bit more than he had previously thought.

Meanwhile Sasuke was stewing, slowly turning thoughts through his head. He had no doubt they would allow him back into Konoha. No real doubts. If anything, his bloodline made him invaluable. It was what had protected him. Was why he could be so arrogant and survive. It was the concessions he would have to make that bothered him. Such as his land. He _wanted_ that land. It was _his_.

Naruto was a different matter though. They might keep him imprisoned indefinitely, unless Tsunade flexed her muscles on the heads of a few council members last night. She couldn't risk too much, but in a way her power as Hokage was at its peak – she could almost dictate. With Konoha so fragile, he doubted conflict within the council was a desirable thing.

Perhaps, what bothered him truly, caused him to stew, was the very few links he had left to Konoha. He didn't feel any kind of attachment to Konoha in name. His attachments to the real world had been limited to his estate, Itachi, Kakashi and Naruto. The former was in limbo, Itachi now dead at his hands, Kakashi a wandering spirit too footloose to hold him, too unreliable. And Naruto.

That's what bothered him.

Naruto.

His voice had kept him fighting when he entertained giving up. Something he had to do, and Naruto's voice had been there, the last he had heard when he left at the waterfall. It followed him around, pitch and intensity never changing much like the sun.

_He's the reason you returned._

It rubbed on him. Peeling back skin cells to bare the loam he knew sat behind taut muscles. Bone that turned to dust.

The blood he had seen told so much more, so many more stories than he could possibly imagine, each with their own endings.

Bone that turned to dust, settling into the ground and him walking back to the town, shovel in hand. You only get one chance at life, and Sasuke knew it.

Naruto was important. He was working on it, but he suspected it had all to do with the feeling of danger when fangs broke like a dam over tender unsuspecting lips. If he gagged him, he could avoid it forever.

Sasuke stewed, glumly, in the dark corner of the cell.

A slim line of a man appeared at the front of the cell, an easy smile on his face neither could decipher. They stood, patiently waiting to be let out.

"Hands stretched out at your sides." The command didn't fit the face, but they obeyed any way.

"Council time!" Naruto cynically jeered. The cell door was opened, and they waited for more shinobi to escort them.

"Come on." Their leader motioned for them to step out. For a moment they were dazed, wondering why there was no escort. "Your movements are being monitored at all times, don't be fooled. Don't do anything stupid."

"We have no reason to, we've done nothing wrong." Naruto flung back. Sasuke let Naruto do the rebutting. Somewhat perverse, he'd done the wrong but would be let in, Naruto had done this village proud and his whole future was in the hands of the old council dragons.

Slowly they made their way out of the prison, into the boiling midday heat cool concrete had hidden. The street was empty, deceptively so. On the fringes of their sixth senses they could tell the falseness of the emptiness. Shadows were full figures prepared to do their worst.

Naruto smiled. Konoha had shaken last night when they got through unannounced. The security head was probably shitting himself round about now, and somehow that amused Naruto. As if they could stop him. No mere mortals could step in his way. His smile faltered at the images flitting through his mind, he had dredged up memories of massacres. Of sacrifices in his – no, the fox's – name. He controlled his tails before they started to give him away, and yet the indignation clung to his mind, slithering seductively along the sides. A glimpse of what he nearly could be if he just let loose on his instincts.

The path down the road seemed so much longer than it had last night to the council house. A hasty hall with seats. Nothing as imposing as the one back in Konoha with dark drapes and smooth black metal.

Suddenly enfolded in the darkness of the town hall, their eyes adjusted, glancing quickly across the hall. Taking in the two seats, on opposite sides of the hall for them, a line of shinobi, prepared to take them down, and then the council members themselves, arranged around the regal figure of Tsunade. Her mouth was set in a grim line, and he didn't really know what that meant.

Monsters and demons and brothers killed in honour of a vengeful clan, and they were only teenagers after all.

They seated themselves, a line of shinobi formed behind them. A drone sounded from the back of the room, and then the slam of thick oak doors closing broke through and calmed them.

The grease of weeks still clung to them, they hadn't been given a chance to clean more than their faces. They had been used to it out there, but here, among _people_ who were clean, stripped with the smell of soap it was just another small thing that set them apart.

The council members were buried in thick black material, allowing them to see them, but not be seen.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Please step forward." A voice from the far right called, the voice was deep but young, a firm strength to it. Sasuke rose from his seat, an arrogant thrust to his hips.

Naruto watched as they interrogated him. Demanding to know where he had been. Sasuke answered, suppressing the bored tone in his voice that nevertheless was audible to Naruto. Nothing was left unanswered. Orochimaru. Their fight on the banks. Itachi. How he had found Naruto. How they had found Konoha. Sasuke spoke honestly, telling all. Naruto shook in his seat as the story about his temper unfolded. The room shifted slightly, the line of shinobi wavered. And Sasuke hadn't even seen him burning. Hadn't seen what truly happened when he was burning and Gaara hadn't stopped him quickly enough. The burns healing slowly on Gaara's arms after the rough glass slid off him.

"You may be seated." The voice on the left spoke once more. Tsunade had remained silent, but now that it was his turn, he wondered how long that would last.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please rise." The voice came from the side he was sitting on, far left. Another young voice. He didn't know what this meant, to be honest. He stood, dancing forward a step. The line nearly broke, but held itself back. The tension rose and fell in the room, only Tsunade and Sasuke kept still.

"How are you feeling, Uzumaki?" the voice asked. Naruto resisted the urge to bounce on the balls of his feet.

"Fine." He paused. "Thank you."

"How did you mission go?"

"Completed to the satisfaction of the client."

"Any complications?"

"The thief wasn't a thief. She had a demon placed in her and was on the run. We tracked her down. She asked for asylum, agreeing to go back to Mist without us having to drag her back. One evening she snaps, and the demon takes over. We chased her…" Naruto paused, licking his fangs thoughtfully. "All of a sudden I burst into flames, I dragged on the fox's chakra. The tails grew. My hair lengthened considerably. Gaara and I killed her. Took her back to the client."

"What did you do then?"

"Gaara and I went looking for Konoha. We found it empty. We were there for three days when Sasuke came back and found us." Naruto said as much as he could, but they said nothing of the fight. It would look weird. It looked weird to them now.

"From then on out you agree with everything Uchiha said in regards to your journey?"

"Yes."

"You may be seated. Do either of you have any questions?" Naruto and Sasuke frowned, wondering why they were being allowed to ask questions. It was promising, but it could be a false hope.

"Why did you evacuate Konoha?" Naruto broke out. There was a murmur amongst them, a shift in the council. Naruto had his own suspicions, that the thoughts of a great demon returning to bring another massacre had made them move. That Tsunade had done all to protect them. Why else would they move? The loss of life had crippled their village. It could be greater if it hadn't been for him – the fox, _the fox_ – Naruto reminded himself.

"Too many demons running loose. You came across villages decimated. We did something before it happened to us." There was a sombre pause. Naruto looked to his right at Sasuke, who had cleared his throat.

"Where is my estate?" The question rang out over the hall, an imperious demand. The room stilled.

"You've been a missing-nin for five years. Your estate was dissolved upon our move." The voice settled itself comfortably.

"Unacceptable. Where were the Hunter-nin? You knew where I was. You all knew. I am here for my estate." Sasuke demanded, angrily. It meant more to him, because if he didn't have that to bind him to Konoha, there was only Naruto. _And he couldn't accept that_. The room stilled, once more. The line of shinobi prepared themselves, faceless bodies ready to launch at his fury.

The council shifted, murmurs among them betraying their unease. They were still too new, not that Sasuke knew this. How far could they push their power? Sasuke spoke again.

"If I don't have an estate, how am I to raise a family?" he hated to go back to this, but it was the fastest way to get what he wants. It seemed to work. They went back to their whispering. Tsunade ignored them.

"We will reinstate your estate. Welcome to Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto." The council rose and left without another backward glance. Tsunade smiled at them, and the line of shinobi broke away into small fragments. Naruto and Sasuke stood, heading together out into the 3 o'clock sunshine.

"We're back." Naruto said quietly, the excitement threatening to bubble out of him. They stood there, calmly, looking out across the bustle. Feeling like outsiders, not returning heroes. It was the reality of the situation. Life didn't just stop because they went away. People grew up, got married, had children, died. Died. Like those eight markers set into fertile ground. They felt awkward, unsure of what to do, even though there was so much to do. A place to stay tonight. People to meet. Arranging an actual home.

"Lunch. We've missed it." Sasuke remarked. It was the perfect opening, and Naruto sprung through it.

"Let's have some then. My treat." Naruto offered. He knew Sasuke had some money, but his account would have been dissolved and the money reclaimed by the council. It would be some time before Sasuke had his old riches back. Sasuke looked at him, Naruto noticing the way in which he studied him. He kept his face carefully blank, of what he didn't know, but it struck him as important that they ate dinner together, at a table, civilly. As if no time had passed.

Not that when they were kids they ever did go out.

They walked around, looking for a place to eat. Butchery, bakery and other essentials had already sprung up to provide a basic living. They wound down through straight streets – town planning clamped down early – searching. They came upon an inn, something they hadn't expected. Konoha seemed too new to be able to support it, but they didn't question it any further. Side by side, as they had been throughout, they entered the establishment, adjusting to the dark smoke within clouding their vision. It was quiet in here, too early for the evening crowds, leaving only drunkards and spontaneous eaters like themselves.

A young girl stepped up to them, an apron strung tightly around her and a pencil tucked behind her ear. She faltered briefly at the sight of Naruto's tails, but steeling herself continued on.

"Two for a table?" She asked briskly, not waiting for an answer before leading them away into the depths of the oval room. Candles haunted every table with their eerie light, and it suddenly felt too intimate. They ignored it. She thrust the menus at them before they had a chance to sit, then waited for them to arrange themselves, holding her pad of paper in a hand, the other poised to write with the pencil. "Drinks?"

"Water." Sasuke ground out, irritated at her service.

"Fruit juice."

"Ok." She ran off to get the drinks. Naruto studied Sasuke, looking at pale skin and a tightly drawn face that spoke of too many nights with one eye open. Now that they were here, at home, he could analyse his behaviour towards Sasuke. The way he let himself be toyed with. The way in which Sasuke's body had felt pressed against a wall with the door on his left.

This wasn't really the time or place for it either. The candle light poured illusions forth.

"Want to share a hotel with me?" he threw the suggestion out onto the table, watching under hooded eyes Sasuke's expression flicker. The rise of blood to the surface, bringing colour and humanity to his lips. He let the invitation linger another moment, letting the double entendre live out its life between them. "It'd save us both money."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto breathed in slowly. It didn't mean anything, this agreement between them. But its existence alone proved something.

The truth is that they weren't ready to say goodbye to each other. They could go back to being singular, but the parting… it had to be done right. It had to be momentous, but quiet and dignified. They were too old and too tired to bother with petty fights that meant life and death at the foot of waterfalls. This battle would be fought in their minds.

He opened the menu, sparing it a brief glance. It had been so long since he had seen writing. He wondered how it was possible to adjust to life here so quickly. To take the feel of thick creamy paper for granted after just a day back.

The girl strode back to their tables, impatiently waiting for their orders. Naruto glanced around the room, taking in the lonely drunk at the bar, and behind the bartender/chef/who-knows. A fairly normal looking kid. Undoubtedly the girl liked him. Or his tails freaked her out. Both were safe bets, in his mind.

"The hot set menu for two." Sasuke ordered smoothly, knowing Naruto hadn't made his mind up and wouldn't really care either.

"That'll be 20 minutes." She dashed off again, and suddenly Naruto knew it was definitely his tails.

"Maybe you should take to wearing a trench coat." Sasuke dryly commented.

"I don't want to hide them. They'll get used to it eventually. What they weren't counting on is that I'm used to their stares. Now it has a narrower target, nothing has really changed on my side of the deal."

"As long as it doesn't bother you." It came out, even though he didn't know why he had even started this tangent, or let himself go on with it.

"Ignorance bothers me, regardless of how used to it I am." The tone of finality in his voice closed off the subject. Sasuke couldn't appreciate how much Naruto had shared in that single sentence.

They gazed off into opposite directions, avoiding eye-contact, because that could be dangerous. The calm before the storm.

"So. A family, huh? Already wanting to settle down?" Naruto asked idly, curiosity setting in.

"I have to. Can't afford to die without someone left to carry it on." His gaze slid back to the left.

"Why worry about it? Konoha has a large stock of your genes frozen. Along with all the adult males that had been sampled before that. If you died they would start bringing back your clan." Naruto wondered. Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily.

"I don't want them to be able to do that. What happens then to our tradition? The Uchiha history? Who will tell them?"

After that, what else could Naruto say? They waited in silence for their food. When it finally came, they ate quickly, avoiding conversation. The heat filled their stomachs, they leant back, enjoying the feel of food prepared by other hands.

Naruto glanced at the clock above the bar. A little after 5 o'clock. Sasuke followed his gaze.

"We need to find a place to stay tonight." Naruto mentioned, the frisson of danger glancing his spine. How far could they push this before it broke between them?

"Pay then."

Naruto went to the bar, tails and braid swinging gently. Sasuke watched him go. He stretched his legs thoughtfully. He felt serious about a family, but actually being a parent… it needed getting used to.

Naruto turned away from the bar, cocking his head towards the door. Seamlessly, Sasuke stood and followed him.

"I asked her about rooms in the Inn, but she said they were fully booked. She gave me directions to another Hotel though, on the other side of town." He reported. Sasuke nodded dully, and they continued on down the streets. Naruto fidgeted, Sasuke noticed.

"Another question?" Sasuke asked, amusement tingeing his tones.

"It's the goddamn tails, isn't it?" Naruto broke out.

"Yes." Sasuke waited.

"Damn it." He ran his tongue over canines, freshly satisfied. "Do you have a girl in mind?"

Sasuke sighed.

"No. Not really."

"What, not even Sakura?" he asked, astounded. A sign swung into view as they turned left at an intersection.

"I thought you liked her." He stalled.

"That would have stopped you?" Curious. No answer. The hotel materialised in front of them, and they climbed the steps – rough wood, unfinished – into the foyer. A man, advanced in the years, smiled up at them.

"How can I help you?"

"I'd like to get two rooms for a night." The man bent to look at his page of bookings. He pointed his finger at one, harrumphing to himself quietly. He scanned the page once more. Naruto had no clue what all the different symbols meant.

"I'm sorry sirs, I only have one room. I can have another bed brought up for you." He smiled apologetically. They looked at each other, both shrugging just very slightly. It was enough.

"We'll take it." Naruto produced his Konoha bank card. "Here you go." Naruto was glad the man hadn't seen his tails. Yet.

"Please sign here." He produced a key. Naruto looked at the bill and nearly choked.

"You're lucky I'm going to be rich, old man."

"Certainly." He humoured Naruto. It was meant to be endearing, but was rather irritating at best. "Here are your keys. Third floor, room 18."

They climbed the stairs, the steps creaking reassuringly. Hasty paint covered hallways in a semblance of civilization. People were doing their best to pretend they had never moved. And it was working for Naruto, but the realities of Sasuke's estate bothered him. Made it nearly impossible to feel home. He unlocked the door to their room. A simple window, a bed against the wall and another door that led to the bathroom. He dimly heard the door close behind him as he went to see what their bathroom held. Toilet, shower, sink with a mirror and a washing machine. The latter seemed to explain the cost of the room.

"We have a washing machine. Excellent!" Naruto went back into the room to see Sasuke leaning against the wall next to the window, taking in the quiet life below them .

"Will Konoha ever recover?"

"More than those villages we saw." Sasuke nodded at that. "I'm taking a shower."

"Sure." Sasuke was lost in his thoughts, and as he heard the shower turn on and Naruto hum a little off-key tune, he faded into memories. Sakura. Did she still mean so much to Naruto that he had dared to ask him about her. As if wanting to form a family was some dastardly plan. No. He was wrong on that note. Naruto cared about people and their feelings. He just wanted to know whether he would treat her right.

The problem was, he didn't know if he'd treat any of his future wives right. He was traditional. He'd cherish them. He'd protect them. He'd respect them and their privacy. But love? He had stability to offer, and riches – though he didn't want that to be the reason he was chosen. He had history, a name, good looks. He didn't want to be chosen because of those either.

How could he treat someone else properly when he loved to fuck around with Naruto's mind. The only friend, his best friend. The Sharingan played in his eyes, marching to Naruto's tune. He'd had to explain that to the council.

It could wait, these thoughts could wait. The water had stopped running. The door was flung open by a good-natured Naruto, shaking his long hair free of water. It hung in a blond curtain down his back, a towel wrapped around his waist. For the first time in years Sasuke saw Naruto close to bared. It brought back the flush of rocking against a wall. His shoulders broad, a defined chest that spoke of willow strength.

"Your turn." His voice still held the singing sway from his tune. "Throw your clothes in the machine and turn it on please."

Sasuke sauntered past him, carrying the wild smell he had just scrubbed off himself. The wild smell of earth and pine forest.

He patted his hair dry, hoping to minimize any knots in it. He could cut his hair, but in a way he had gotten used to it, and seeing himself without it would take getting used to. And there was so much else to get used to without having his own image flitting in front of him.

Besides. He had the sneaking suspicion that if he cut it, the next time he drew on the fox's chakra it'd grow out again, fanning wildly behind him like the tails. He didn't want to be proven right.

He found his old tie, the elastic nearly worn out. He threw his hair into an easy pony tail, high on the back of his head. He wrapped the length of hair dangling free around itself, tucking the end into the tie. The bun held, tottering warningly. Naruto seriously reconsidered cutting his hair.

The water stopped. Then the washing machine started its spin, and Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom.

"We left our clothes at the prison." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose gently. Naruto shrugged.

"Yeah. Forgot about those."

"That old man hasn't come up with the bed."

"There's no phone, and I'm not going downstairs in a towel!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke joined him on the bed.

"Fine." Sasuke looked him over. "Nice hairdo."

"Should I cut it?" Naruto asked, self-consciously patting the bun. It had been a braid for so long that the realignment of weight on his head felt strange. Sasuke kept quiet, his eyes focusing on the pale skin on his neck that had been hidden from the sunshine. Naruto caught him looking. "You like it?"

"Looks better than that idiotic hairstyle you had when we were younger." he said. Naruto looked offended, but lent back onto the bed, legs dangling off the side.

"Kiba—"

"Kiba only had your hairstyle because his mutt rode on his head all the time." He pre-empted.

"That's harsh."

"True though."

"What do you call your hairstyle?"

"Nothing. It's hair."

"If that were the case you'd shave it off. But you're vain!" Naruto crowed. A smile quirked on Sasuke's lips. He tried to shrug it off, but the heat of the shower had softened them both around the edges. He leant over Naruto. Sharingan eyes bored into Naruto's.

"Don't I look good?" Sasuke smirked. Naruto's eyes flickered warningly. Blue-red-blue-red-blu—.

"Yeah. All the girls will be glad to have you back." He commented, but it lacked the bantering tone they'd had earlier. Sasuke leant back. They became aware of the darkness in the room. Night had fallen during the course of their lazy conversation. Naruto yawned.

"I'll check on our clothes, see if they've dried." Sasuke drifted off. Naruto settled himself more comfortably on the bed, feeling too hot to bother with the sheets. Sasuke threw a set of boxers at Naruto through the door. They smelt clean, and still held the heat they had just escaped. He drew them on, throwing the towel over the radiator at the window.

Sasuke came back into the room and settled himself on the other side of the bed. There was a noticeable distance between them, and suddenly this seemed like a bad idea. They weren't kids anymore, and whose fault was that anyway?

"Good Night." Naruto said, feigning sleepiness.

"Night." He replied.

Sometime late into the night Sasuke jerked out of his sleep, feeling a hand land on his bare stomach. The heat in the hand was slightly above what it should have been. He turned his head to his left, looking at Naruto who looked peaceful. The hand on his stomach lost its heat.

* * *

**AN**: I hope I haven't lost anyone because of the talk about girls and families and wives and raising children. Come back! Please! Lol. 

**TenshiKaitou**: Oh yes, I do! As for that hot and sticky situation, I can't write NC-17 material on here, but if I do, it will be linked in my profile to my lj. Not to spoil the fun, but there might be a flashback that miiight satisfy you!

**Lady of Gryffindor**: So am I. No, seriously, I am. ;)

**Chineselaquer**: Thanks for the encouragement! As for the spelling mistake, thanks! I hate it when a typo turns out to be an actual word the spell checker didn't pick up on.

**TFI-Muse**: Yeah, I'm not very happy with that ending either. As for it not being Konoha… I very nearly went with that, but by gods I am lazy and didn't want to make myself more work than I had to!

**Letta**: Thanks for the compliment! Very much appreciated!

**Aznquill**: You're right about those sentences. When I'm writing them I know the tone I started out with. But on re-reading them I can't find it! I hope I've done a little better with them this time, I found the comma key… Heh. Thanks for the compliment on the kiss, heh. Sometimes they can be so hot, without the need for all the lemony stuff afterwards. (Not that I'm saying we shouldn't have lemons…cough)

**Lady-Frisselle**: I'm glad you liked the description of the fight! I'm too lazy to write a good fight scene, but at the same time I wanted to get across the… danger and violence involved without having to describe it. I hope that sort of came across. As for being under arrest – Naruto's appearance has drastically changed, and Sasuke has been gone for the past five years. They can't just…run around town without explaining to the council. Well. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it… coughs

**BrokenReflection**: blushes Thanks! And yes, Gaara rules! I'm trying to balance my instinct to make this a threesome and keep this vaguely sensible.


	11. Chapter 9 knock on the sky

**The Little Things**

**By Starapple (Martinique)**

Okay everyone. Chapter 9, 6,777 words. I've sorted out a new plan for this fic, and in fact I have roughly 28 more major/minor events before this story is over. However, I'm not convinced by some of it, so I'm going to throw this out to you all, in the hopes that someone is prepared to offer me some advice!

Would someone not mind looking over this plan and tell me if they like it or not? **Contact me via e-mail, linked in my profile**.

Also, see my ANs at the end of this chapter for a few words on pairings.

* * *

**Chapter 9 – knock on the sky  
**Naruto woke first, aware of his body in an absolute instant. The hand. Their heads closer than they had been the night before. He crept out of the bed, avoiding a confrontation even though Sasuke had woken just a moment after him. 

They pretended, and walked around each other, barely saying good morning.

The morning drifted on lazily. A knock came at the door, an hour later, a 7 o'clock call. They had risen with a dawn that floundered against the morning sun. The haze of dew that had settled over the growing village dissipated. Naruto shouted his thanks at the retreating steps. They had another quick shower – who could resist the hot water, long forfeited – leaving as they had come with no luggage after paying the man downstairs. They said nothing about the bed not appearing, because that would have been an indirect confrontation of what had taken place, without their permission, last night.

"The offices won't be open for another hour at least. Breakfast?" Naruto broke the silence. He got the feeling he was always breaking the silence. Sasuke nodded. Naruto felt oddly irritated.

They walked back to the inn, which made sense because the offices were on this side of the village.

The girl was stood at the bar again. Naruto gave her a shout, ordering breakfast, and they seated themselves, waiting. People moved in the background, but their focus was on the table, the candles gone for the time being.

"Got to sort out a place to stay…" Naruto murmured to himself, running down a list of things to do. Sasuke said nothing, waiting for breakfast. Naruto's thoughts drifted to Gaara, remembering his promise. He'd do that first. Send off a bird to the Sand Village, make sure it was still there. He doubted Tsunade would let him leave town straight away, at least not without setting his affairs in order. She'd be pissed if he left without letting her know, and the council would scream murder – he still hadn't solved the puzzle of the young voices. He could understand council members dying, but to be replaced by younger members? It made no sense to him. Unless Tsunade was sick and tired of playing politics with old men.

Their food came on a wide steaming plate. They picked up their chopsticks and began to eat, breaking off the loaf as they went. Hot coffee in a pot was poured into simple china cups, and breakfast was served.

Silence dominated their table, the clutter of the girl and the kitchen staff doing a poor job of covering it up. Naruto let his chopsticks rest once he finished, settling back to watch Sasuke who was eating at a leisurely pace.

"I'll pay." Naruto said, before scraping away from the table and heading to the bar. His tails lazed slowly behind him, swaying above the hem of his trousers. Sasuke gripped the china, scared all of a sudden of how much control it took not to clamp down on it completely, and cherish the feeling of it shattering in his hands. His hand shook, the coffee slopping over his hand. But he barely noticed the hot black liquid scald his hand.

He let it drop, before his hand closed into a fist. It sank into the table with a loud clank, but Sasuke was up, wiping his hand with a napkin and discarding it, stalking over to Naruto who had turned to look at him.

"You okay?" Naruto asked, and suddenly itched after the weapons the prison service had. This seemed familiar, somehow. Like…. Naruto grasped for it. The feeling, it was the same as finding Gaara in the kitchen that day. Sasuke let out a breath. Stilling himself, calming the emotions.

"Of course." He said, tone flat. He wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Naruto. But he wasn't about to ask, not with their closeness from last night still a touchy issue.

It made things so damn awkward.

"I need to go to the post office. Send a carrier pigeon." Naruto mentioned, opening the way for them to go their separate ways. Sasuke glared, and the tremor in his arm came back. He saw red, the red colour of Gaara's hair.

"…I'm going to the passport office." They stood for a moment, diligently ignoring the weird stares they were getting from patrons and the waitress.

"I'll catch you later." Naruto said. Sasuke looked at him then, assessing blatantly. He narrowed his eyes at the foot, tapping slowly.

"Dinner tomorrow evening. Eight o'clock." He insisted. Naruto blinked, the foot stalling.

"Yeah. Sure. Here, right?"

"Yes." Sasuke had a hold of him, as if he had clamped down on his wrist, but the distance between them was audible.

"Sure. Later." Naruto escaped, slipping from the grasp out into the open day. He wove through the streets to the town centre, shaking off the feeling that he had just _missed_ something.

Town planning really had clamped down on everything. Tsunade's office was at the head of the pedestrianised area. Around it, the passport office, the post office, the bank, the housing service, the mission office – not open yet – the town hall with the council offices, the security department and other essentials.

He wandered up to the post office, watching the surge of people file into the different buildings, going to work, waiting for the services.

The post office was new, like everything else here. But the edges showed it to be hastily thrown together, unfinished, raw. It was still early, so the queue was relatively small. He had a lot of experience with the post office, having to come here for his war orphan fund. Before he knew it he was in front of the counter, talking to a lady who looked as if she already wanted to be somewhere else. The heat sank into the room, the humidity thickening. She fidgeted uncomfortable, dragging long hair back from her face.

"How may I help you?" she asked, feigning politeness. He knew it wasn't specifically aimed at him.

"A carrier pigeon to the Sand Village."

"Addressed to?"

"Gaara of the Sand. Box 532."

"Message?"

"Arrived at Konoha, safe. Send reply with this pigeon. Naruto."

"Is that all?"

"Yes." He paused. "Has there been any communication from this village?"

"Yes, there has."

"Recent?"

"Yes." She replied. Naruto nodded thoughtfully, drew the last of his spare cash and paid for the carrier pigeon. Usually he would have just sent a letter, but he wanted an answer as quickly as possible, even if it was more expensive.

"Thanks." He told her before leaving. He stepped back into the heavy sunshine. The thought of his cash dictated his next steps, leading him to Konoha's main bank. He was doing well. It was still early, most people had yet to leave their houses, consequently the queue here too was short.

"How can I help you?" the man at the till asked when he finally reached the top of the line.

"I want to draw some cash from my account, as well as having a look at my bank statement."

"Could I see your bank card, please?"

"Sure." He produced it, passing it under the glass between them. The man gave it a look, typed his name into the computer.

"Would you like to update your address?"

"Eh. No, not at this time."

"How much would you like to withdraw?"

"200, please."

"I'll print out your statement. Please be sure to update your address." He handed over the cash, and Naruto signed the slip for it. It seemed so alien to be handling a pen again.

"Will do." Naruto smiled genially. The man handed over a long sheet, eight pages long.

"Here you go. Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you." He took the statement and the money, heading to the back of the bank where a line of seats waited. He sat down, perusing his statement of the last year and a bit. He noted the war orphan fund had finished back in October. Just as well. He could shake off the ill-feeling of being the fox hiding with the kids.

The balance was favourable, he could afford to find a new flat. He'd have to wait a while before his mission money came through, but it wouldn't be long now before he could relax slightly.

The next stop was the housing services. They had a list of landlords that had vacant flats to let. He chose a few, rang them up from a tollbooth outside and arranged to view them over the rest of the day. They were in different areas of the district, but the guy he spoke to gave him a simple map of the area. He made his way to them, getting to know the town as he went. He didn't like the first three, on the simple fact that they were too close to the edge of Konoha, too far from the centre of things. The other building was on a floodplain near a river, and Naruto had spent enough time in hotter areas to know about monsoons and flash floods. He didn't like rooms on the ground floor, anyway.

The next one turned him away, having already rented the flat in question. He made a lot of apologies, and Naruto calmly told him it was fine and that he'd find another place, thanks. He realised he had a lot of competition, people still finalizing places to live.

He took the next place. Not because he was desperate, but because of the area. Close to the town centre, far enough to be quiet at night. The old landlady was trying to make him as comfortable as possible, and the flat came partly furnished. Of course this meant if he destroyed anything – not that he planned to – it'd come out of his advance, but it was the nicest apartment he had seen so far. Or had rented, for that matter.

He took it without further hesitation, signing the lease. He asked to use the phone to cancel the other two properties he had earmarked, noting that she hadn't reacted at all to his tails. He shrugged it off. A landlady who was nice? His luck was turning.

It was late in the day now, but there were a few hours left to the business day. He made his way back to the centre, picking up his stuff from the prison guards who gave him measured looks that warned him to behave.

He flashed them a sunny smile, sauntering out to shop for essentials. Bed sheets, food, kitchen utensils, towels, toilet paper, soap and a few clothes. He carried them back to his new flat, jiggling the key in the lock. The only thing he had from his old home – other than his clothes and the forehead protector – was a picture of the four of them, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and himself. He pinned it to the fridge with a magnet.

The photo was faded, crumpled around the edges. A copy of it sat in his old home, carefully framed in a present Iruka gave him. But he carried this one around with him, along with Tsunade's necklace, a reminder of sorts of what he had promised Sakura that day, what he had decided himself. The team that they had been and would be again. The pain was still too new though, and nothing they danced around, pretended glibly in the morning hadn't happened, his abandonment was still clear. Still created problems between them, and they hadn't even seen Sakura yet.

He doubted she'd take it calmly. Her medical abilities had improved, and so had her fighting skills. And time spent with Tsunade had hardened her; he wouldn't be surprised if the first thing she did to Sasuke involved smashing him into the mountain. Not that he didn't deserve it, and in many respects it isn't as if that fight hadn't served to get rid of most of the immediate aggression, leaving just the underlying tension.

His last thoughts as he fell asleep were of the three of them, dunking their feet into a little stream that bubbled past. A whole hour of quiet peace had drifted away before Sakura had noted the silence. It all went downhill from there, but that hour of peace said everything he needed to know about what it felt like to be part of a team. That ultimate feeling he had been searching for. Being part of a whole. Sitting at a stream would _never_ feel that way again without him, it was imprinted on them, on time itself.

He rose with the sun, compiling a list of things that he wanted to do today. He took a different route into town, one that climbed behind a steep rise, hiding the new ninja academy. A light smile appeared on Naruto's lips as he proceeded into the foyer, knowing full well that if Iruka was working today he would already be in. Iruka was reliable, as regular as clockwork. He made his way down the hallway, noticing the diagrams as he went. Someone had been hard at work, he swore some of those diagrams had already gathered dust. He turned a corner to find himself staring straight into a classroom, an older man with the customary hair tied high on the head crouched over a table, hard at work. He approached, slow steps forward. Iruka looked up at the sound, staring at him for a moment, unbelieving.

"Iruka-sensei." He called laughingly. "I said I'd be back, didn't I?"

"Naruto? Come in, come in." Iruka ushered him, standing to greet him. He met him on the other side of the table, taking hold of his hand and bringing him into his embrace. Naruto smiled. He hadn't changed. "You finally got back from your mission!"

"No thanks to you, could've left me a note with directions." Naruto pouted out of habit. Slipping into this role was easy, but the constraints pulled on his lungs. Told him he was too old to do this now. He wasn't a cute kid anymore.

"Eh, sorry." Iruka smiled. "But you're here now!"

"Yeah. I saw the academy and figured you'd be here. You workaholic." He accused. Iruka shrugged.

"I love my work."

"I know, I know. Anyway, I need to do a lot today, but we should eat lunch sometime and catch up. By the way, Sasuke is back."

"What?" Iruka frowned. "Uchiha's back…." He muttered.

"Yeah. Surprised you haven't heard. We must have pissed off the head of security by barging into the village unannounced two nights ago." Iruka shook his head.

"Probably don't want to publicise their failure." Iruka paused. "You've been here for a day and you only come and see me now!" he pointed a finger, wagging it at him. Naruto smiled at the man.

"I'm a grown-up now, teacher." He replied cheerfully. "Had to rent a flat and all sorts of other stuff, which reminds me I need to go now. Here, my house address." He scribbled it down. "I'll see you soon. Have a good day, teacher!" he mocked cheerfully. Iruka smiled.

Iruka hadn't really changed. His voice perhaps a little lower, a little hoarser from shouting at kids over the years. Face drawn, but then everyone was tired – the evacuation would cling to the steps of the inhabitants for a while yet, at least until the sheen of impermanence had been wiped away.

It was still too early for most of Konoha, who'd undoubtedly just be waking up. He liked it though, it was a comfortable moment to have to himself. He wandered the streets, getting to know his new home until he began to see life seep out of the homes and into the town centre.

He went to the bank and updated his address, as well as drawing some more money. The mission money had yet to filter into his account, but he could wait.

He was in a good mood as he walked past the two guards at the front of the Hokage's office. He doubted they were the same guards they had disabled last time, but he nodded at them anyway. They glanced over him, assessing the risk, but let him in unimpeded. They knew who he was. The office was already bustling, chuunin completing tasks for Tsunade. The room wavered, halted and resumed as he casually sauntered through.

The two guards in front of the doors to Tsunade's office halted him.

"The Hokage is busy." One told him. Naruto blinked.

"With whom?" he asked. The two guards looked at each other. The silent one shrugged.

"Haruno Sakura." The guard told him. Naruto's smile widened. He'd been saved the trouble of finding her.

"Great. Let me through please." He didn't really wait for an objection, barging into the room to see Sakura huddled with Tsunade over a scroll. More medic business.

"I'm busy." Tsunade barked, not bothering to look up. Naruto grinned, coming to a standstill behind Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura." He watched the shoulders tense slightly, a physical reflex she still hadn't gotten over.

"Naruto?" she asked, somewhat unsure. Tsunade grumpily sat back.

"Honestly Naruto, you shouldn't just barge into my room as if you were still—" she went on, but Naruto didn't really hear the rest of it once Sakura stood and turned to him. She gave him a smile, a truly happy heartfelt smile. It couldn't hide the tears she was trying to suppress.

"You're alright!" she cried, bringing a hand up to her mouth. He smiled encouragingly, opening his arms to hug her. Her hair tickled his chin, but they hugged each other tightly before stepping back.

"Of course I am. You know me, stubborn and really hard to kill." Naruto quipped. She sobered up.

"Sasuke." She said, pronouncing it with grim finality. He knew what would come next. Naruto looked at Tsunade, who looked back at him without blinking. He'd have to handle this.

"Yeah?" he replied, and he noted how it almost sounded as if he was sulking. Maybe he was.

"You brought him back." She said. Naruto felt stricken, memories of promises made flashing through his mind. He wavered slightly, looking down at the floor between them.

"No. No I didn't. He came." Naruto said, and he didn't know why that bothered him. He hadn't come back to reform their team, hadn't come back to see Sakura or for him. He was here for his estate, the one he had demanded back from the old council dragons. "I'm sorry." He didn't know why he was apologising, but it fit into the moment perfectly. She smiled then, but it was a mature smile, tinted with heavy regret.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. He's back. That's all that matters." She turned to Tsunade, who was watching them both with knowing eyes. "Could we—"

"Go on. Just be back before lunch, the scroll can wait until then." Tsunade said, waving them away leisurely.

"Thank you!" they called back to her, making a swift exit. They knew from experience that Tsunade always liked to add conditions to her favours. Something about a passive replacement for her gambling addiction, or at least that's the excuse she used.

He let Sakura lead him to a small coffee shop, nestled between two businesses. They found a seat, ordered, and started to share all that had happened. Naruto told her what he was allowed to, keeping within the Official Secrets Agreement they had all signed. Sakura understood, told him a little about how far her training had advanced. It was only when they had finished the coffee that he realised she had been fiddling with something at her neck for the past hour or so. The shock rendered him speechless for all of two seconds before he was asking and she was blushing.

"You're engaged!" he shouted, barely keeping the conversation private.

"Shut up!" she hissed, but he could tell she was secretly pleased he had noticed. "Yes… I'm engaged."

"To?" he asked, shaking his head in amazement. He hadn't expected this at all. And the day had started so innocently.

"Rock Lee." She said. Waiting for a reaction. Naruto was careful to smile in the right way, because women were damn good at seeing a lie when they wanted to. Sakura bit her lip, but the pink flush across her cheeks betrayed her happiness. "We're getting married in Spring."

"How long?" he asked, in many ways still too stunned to begin to wrap his mind around this. Emotions warred in him; disappointment, regret, relief, happiness. He couldn't get a fix on a specific one, they slipped through his fingers.

"About half a year." The waiter came, disturbing their conversation, taking at their nod the cups and plates. Sakura glanced at her watch. He knew what that meant, it was time for her to go. "I'm sorry Naruto, I have to go." She stood, uncomfortable, until Naruto caught on and stood as well, giving her a brief hug. She smiled that smile that was beginning to grate on Naruto, mainly because he was having to mimic it and pretend he was just as happy and to tell the truth he wasn't sure he was all that happy. Her eyes set hard for a moment, and he worried he was transparent, easily seen through as Sasuke tended to see through him. "Make sure you tell Sasuke where I am."

"Will do." He watched her leave, flashing a quick smile at him again before heading out into the bustling lunch crowd. He folded back into the chair, full of relief, energy drained. He couldn't believe it, how much, _how much_, so fucking much had changed in the time he'd been gone. She'd gotten herself engaged.

He supposed it had to do with her being his first – and only – love. And no matter how much he hadn't loved her, just vague attraction and affection, he didn't want to believe that she just upped and got herself engaged to someone. After all, he'd spent countless mornings asking her on a date, and even though he'd been joking it somehow hurt that she'd never taken him seriously.

He suppressed the bitter feelings, adding some money to the sum she'd left on the table. He willed himself to just forget it, besides, she was a team mate, he was talking about Sakura. He had to stop mixing up his emotions, had to stop tagging names to them and expecting them to stand still, lashed into place for the rest of time.

Picking himself up, he wandered back out onto the streets of Konoha avoiding thoughts of Sakura that nevertheless haunted him.

It struck him that he had enjoyed being out of Konoha more than in it. It was the fox's influence, to a degree. But on the other side lay him, and he wanted the insecurity of living off rations and the bushes, of the fights.

The first time he killed a man, really got close and personal with the killing, he had kept right on, sparing the shocked man a glance, imprinting goggles and headband, dirty ash hair and a tanned round face onto his memory, but he kept right on fighting, helping his comrades.

He didn't think about it while the adrenalin was still trailing through his body, raising body temperature, keeping him on his toes, teeth bared into the next challenge. It didn't come to him once the adrenalin faded either, not while he was following the team lead Shikamaru back to the village.

Naruto knew the exact moment it had happened, that moment just after he had stepped into his house and double locked the door, adding the bolt for good measure. He'd collapsed there, itching frantically, the sear of acidic fluids running up his throat as he sought not to choke, not to throw up on the goddamn floor because it'd be a bitch to clean up. He could hear the sounds he was making, long choking noises that suggested oncoming hysteria. He opened his eyes, focusing on the plants, on the kitchen, on things he knew from having spent so much time here, thinking only about that, getting rid of the edge he'd been on since he'd entered the village, since he had a moment to think everything he'd been through.

Eventually he came to terms with it. All it needed was time and rational thinking. Naruto applied this to Sakura. It was time to let go of thoughts that had turned into habits.

He thought of Gaara, how his ease with Death had scared him until Gaara had noticed and explained that all humans die anyway, so why fear death? Looking back on it now the words didn't mean much, and had it been anyone else he'd have told them that too, but coming from Gaara there had been the hint of knowledge, of experience that resonated deeply in those sombre words. They'd been huddled over a fire. More accurately, he was getting as close to the fire as he possibly could, and Gaara had sat himself on the other side, posture straight.

All the thoughts, suddenly brought up, frustrated him. Already he felt caged in this village, the constraints discovered, he could almost feel the choking claustrophobia of the cave descending him. All positively ludicrous, but there it was, that feeling, and he was glad to be on his own so no one could see him slightly unhinged.

Perhaps it was time to arrange an appointment with Tsunade. He had no doubt she'd catch up with him soon to check on the seal anyway, but… that thing with Gaara, and then the sudden memories in the middle of the council had worried him. Being honest with himself, scared completely shitless would have been a closer estimation of his thoughts just after noting how close he had come to letting himself be dragged down that dangerous path of invincibility. He clearly wasn't, even if the fox was. Biding his time perhaps, but he wasn't going to get his body, he'd make sure of that.

Time lagged and he knew it was too early to expect a reply from Gaara. Restless, impatient, he found himself back outside his new apartment, key already in the door. As it should be, the flat was empty, Naruto ran his eyes over the kitchen table, the couch, the bookcase and an assortment of other furniture lined his walls. He dragged himself into his room, into the bathroom to clean up before he went out tonight.

He cleaned the flat a little, even though there wasn't much to clean. He was bored, and he had nothing to read. He found himself touching the different textures in the room, the feel of wood grain under calloused thumbs, the feel of rough beige fabric stretched like burlap sacks over an unsteady frame. He whiled away the time, waiting for the event that would conclude the day, would decide if it had been a good idea to get up that morning or not.

The loose shirt flowed around him, his skin breathed underneath, a gentle pulse humming along his entire body. He was in better spirits now, feeling calmer now that he'd put some of the restlessness to use. It made sense, between missions he never wanted to clean, so starting off clean would make it easier to keep it so.

The streets had a few people wandering along them, doing the last errands for the day, switching with the night shift of security, going home to find someone else there. When he got to the inn, he was on time, but Sasuke was already waiting for him at the table they had adopted. The candles glimmered, shifting back and forth, the heart of the flames swimming in front of him. Like sitting around the campfires in the jungle.

The blue shirt Sasuke sported was clearly expensive. It didn't have his clan symbol on it, not yet, but that told Naruto all he needed to know about how successful he'd been so far. And no mark on him. Sakura had yet to see him then.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he made himself comfortable, and Naruto let the silence lie between them. The waitress came over, looking more assured than she had before. People stared at him and then got bored of it. Especially as he hadn't done anything weird, and it was reassuring. The general population – that any shinobi village had – didn't know him in any case, it was the shinobi, those with long memories who still feared him, who hated him because he was a walking reminder of their grief. He thought after eighteen years they would have gotten used to it.

It was the idle tap of his finger that got Sasuke's attention. The finger tapped again, and at first he ignored it, the gentle tap, but it became a beat he followed, willing it to keep the rhythm, and then he noticed it, the new line on top of the other, the waving lines that told him how many seconds into the future it'd hit the table.

The finger stilled, and Sasuke's gaze snapped back to Naruto's face, asking him a question that Sasuke already knew – "What?".

"What?" Naruto asked, just a millisecond afterwards, and then – "Huh?". Sasuke's suspicions were forming. He nodded to himself. "Was I bothering you?"

"No." he replied, just a moment after he said it, and it confirmed his thoughts. The full force of Naruto's gaze hit him, demanding he tell him what was going on. "I think … look at my eye, please."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked, not too happy with looking him directly in the eye if something was wrong. Which was ridiculous because Sasuke wouldn't do anything to him without saying so first. That was his way. He gave warning. At least to him.

"Just do it. I doubt there's a mirror in this place." Sasuke said, anticipating what Naruto might say once he looked. He leant over the table towards Naruto, carefully avoiding the flame planted in their table. He came closer, seeing him in the change of the light, the blond strands giving him a haloing effect. Naruto focussed on him, and he could see his pupils widen in the sudden lack of light. He steadied himself on the table. Naruto frowned, squinting up at him, turning his head to double-check what he had seen.

"I could have sworn there were always three notches in your eyes. But there are four now." He said, finally confirming Sasuke's suspicions. He sat down, slumping back into his seat.

"It means my blood limit is advancing." Sasuke explained. Naruto looked confused.

"I thought you were born with it and that was that. And that some of you learn the Magenkyou, but that in general everything stayed the same. You're telling me that it can advance?"

"Yes. You know where the Sharingan came from, right?" he continued at Naruto's nod. "Unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan changes with age and experience. Some of my family never advanced from three, but if it did, the change would continue throughout their life. One of my uncles had eight notches in his eyes at the time of his death. I never saw him fight, but he was known for pre-empting nearly all possible battle movements. It's like having all the possibilities at any moment calculated. It sees nearly all subtleties. But it requires a lot of stamina, and chakra."

"You just noticed that your eyes changed?"

"It's a gradual change, takes weeks sometimes."

"Right. Well, we'll have to test it out sometime." Naruto grinned. Sasuke waved him off.

"Sure. Anytime." Sasuke wondered if he'd actually be able to keep up with Naruto now.

"I'm holding you to that." Naruto warned. "Besides that, what's the situation with your estate?" Sasuke's expression darkened considerably.

"Those council dragons forgot to mention that they used a generous portion of my riches to fund the buildings of Konoha. On the flipside, it means I own a small, but sizeable chunk of Konoha, but I can't actually do anything with those assets for another 2 years because of some contract they signed. I insisted they give me the equal value of my land or the relevant acres, whichever was larger, in line with inflation. Needless to say they weren't pleased about that."

"You don't make small bones about pissing them off though."

"They do things that suit them, and don't be mistaken, they got what they wanted and need."

"Have you seen the land they've given you?"

"No, but they've assured me its good land. I'm not a farmer, so I have no interest in valley land, and they were very pleased with that."

"How are you going to rebuild everything? Clearing the land, rebuilding the houses…that's going to take time and a lot of money." Naruto wondered how Sasuke could even be bothered with such a task. It didn't seem like him. Then again, just because he himself would have bought a piece of land with a house on it, didn't mean Sasuke would do the same. The waitress came with two platters of steaming food, the rice in a large bowl on the side. They readily tucked in, helping themselves.

Sasuke shrugged off the worries. "I'll clear the land myself, and use the wood to lay the foundation for the house. I have no intention of going anywhere, and with the rent from the numerous buildings, I don't have to." He was determined to replace it. It wouldn't be the same as the old one, but he needed something to bind him to this place. Somewhere he could be at ease.

"What, no missions?" An ill taste formed at the back of Naruto's throat, spelling out his surprise.

"The mission office isn't even open yet. I doubt it will be anytime soon, not with what's happening." Sasuke looked at him, suppressing the dizziness that was coming on. He'd have to work on that. "Aren't you tired of being on the road?"

Naruto didn't know how to answer. He was glad to be able to put up his feet, to simply stop worrying about eyes in the night shining dark red. To enjoy food he hadn't made hastily from rations and whatever they had found in the wild.

At the same time there was something liberating about having to fend for yourself, without the chain of civilisation holding you back. Or at least that's the feeling Naruto got when he was running through forests, the tang of fresh plants hanging high in the air.

"Yes." He said. "And no." Another pause. "I'm a shinobi, missions are what I do."

"So am I. But there are other missions, closer to home, that don't involve court intrigue and assassinations." He explained, but Naruto was already disagreeing with him. Sasuke was a damn good shinobi, but his reasons for being one was buried in a shallow grave somewhere on the continent.

He didn't say that though. They were enjoying a meal, and he had no intention of upsetting this right now. He neatly laid his chopsticks to the side.

"So where are you staying, now?" Naruto asked, wanting to change the subject before he let his mouth transform his thoughts into vibrations. He had yet to mention Sakura.

"In a flat in one of my buildings." Sasuke smiled, then suddenly laughed. "Fuck, I never thought I'd be a part-time businessman."

"Fortune sure loves you." Naruto had resigned himself to this a long time ago. He couldn't really dislike someone because of good fortune.

"Yeah." A heavy pause. Sasuke finished eating, placing the chopsticks on the side of his plate. "But they would have kept it if I hadn't insisted. They wouldn't have offered."

"For the greater good." He knew why he was a shinobi, and it was summed up neatly in those words. Neither of them, Naruto realised, were in this because of their selflessness. The silence settled itself over them comfortably; they stretched out their feet, moving deeper into the seats. The waitress came and took their plates, briefly enquired about dessert which they both turned down, and left them again to find their bill. "Guess who I saw today?" he started. Sasuke waited expectantly. "Sakura."

Sasuke eyes widened, briefly. But it was enough for Naruto who was watching for this, who was watching and waiting for exactly such a reaction. It didn't mean anything, yet, but the simple fact that it had happened meant that it existed.

"How is she?" he asked, carefully. Naruto fiddled with edge of the tablecloth, looking off behind Sasuke but careful to keep him in focus.

"Depends on who you're talking about." He replied obliquely. Sasuke tightened his fist below the table. A slow burn, a slow simmer that Naruto knew would come to a boil if he persisted. If he didn't take the heat off.

"What's that supposed to mean? Get to the fucking point."

"Well. She didn't say it in as many words, but I think when she sees you she'll probably punch you. She's not the old Sakura you remember. She's not going to fawn over you, she's been studying with Tsunade and apparently _her_ common sense rubbed off."

Sasuke looked at him. As if he was proposing the earth had turned over on its axis.

"Time didn't stop. For you, or for me, and certainly not for her. She's engaged to Rock Lee, they're going to be married next Spring." Naruto saw the sudden surprise on his face, the tremor that ran down his side.

Sasuke ran his tongue over his lips, a quick flicker of pink that betrayed the shock. It satisfied Naruto, somehow, to see him shocked in the same way he had been.

The bill came, finally. Sasuke paid, throwing money on the table. Naruto appreciated the gesture. By some accord they rose and left the building together, knowing that this wasn't finished. The cool air hit them squarely in the face, a cold blast that rifled through their shirts. They moved together down towards the centre.

"What am I supposed to say?" he asked, finally. Sasuke saw him make a non-committed shrug. One that said it was his problem alone, and that additionally, no advice would be forthcoming. Naruto dug around in the pocket of his jeans, searching for a slip of paper that he finally produced. He held it out to Sasuke as they strolled down the street.

"Sakura's address." Sasuke hesitated a moment before taking it. "And mine, on the other side."

"Thanks." Sasuke's mind worked wildly. For some reason being confronted by an angry Sakura didn't sit well with him.

They came to an intersection, Sasuke leaning left, Naruto to the right. They halted for a moment. Sasuke noticed how easily their steps fell together, a rhythm that bounced along unimpeded.

"So, want any help?" Naruto asked softly, looking off towards his own place. Sasuke swiftly glanced at him.

"I'm not paying." Naruto shrugged, again.

"Ok." He seemed distant, all of a sudden. Sasuke recognised this, the stance, the position. As if he had separated himself from all thought. Like nothing could touch him. His tails hung low in the sky, swishing absently.

"Meet here, six am?"

"No problem. I'll see you then." He went to leave.

"Did I say something?" Sasuke asked abruptly. He stopped, the braid swinging low on his spine. He came back, and Sasuke noticed how he padded down the tarmac street as if he were in the jungle, a prowling predator. Like an animal, like the one sealed away in him, he looked dangerous in the starlit evening as he approached.

Sasuke stayed put, letting him come up close, close enough that their bodies touched and Naruto could speak into his ear, hot breath passing over the shell of his ear as he whispered, low and serious.

"No, you didn't. You haven't ever. You don't really care, do you? You can't even feel happy for her, can you? You're just shocked she got on with her fucking life." He backed off slightly, but there was still that heat between them.

"I came back."

"Why?" he insisted, and Naruto could feel the blaze of heat developing from the depths of his stomach, spreading out. The pressure of the heat turning inwards was enveloping them both.

Sasuke took a step back.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." He called quietly, taking long strides away from him, from the conversation, unwilling to answer a question like that.

Naruto stood there for endless minutes, facing a breeze laden with pollen and ripeness.

* * *

**AN**: So I said I'd have some NaruGaara moment in this, but… things change! Plans change! Plans change in cunning ways, twisting under me even as I try to pin them down…. **There will be GaaNaru**, to be specific, but it will have to wait another chapter or two – I can't tell how many points I'm going to cover under each chapter, but I can say that it will be soon.

Actually, I'm looking forward to writing it, because I really want to. I mean, writing 12,000 words in 3 days has taken its toll, and I have slowed down slightly, but I'll try for another 2 chapters before the end of next week.

We'll see how that goes.

**Aznquill**: I see it now that my eye has been drawn to the 'dec' part! And please don't ever stop, I love hearing and having such things pointed out to me.

**Broken Reflection**: Lol! No threesome! Maybe I'll write a one-shot threesome, but I always tend to think of Gaara and Sasuke as singular beings that really don't like to share.

**TenshiKaitou**: I'm glad it hasn't made you leave…. There's this one part of me that just can't let such things go. I once read a fic where Kakashi could quite happily get on with Iruka because he'd already had a child hidden in a village somewhere. I found that brutally realistic, but at the same time somehow sad. Kakashi not being a real daddy… Wait, where was I going with this? So yeah. I think Sasuke wouldn't be able to let something like that go, and coupled with wanting to have something other than Naruto as his 'reason' it makes for interesting conflict to explore. And waste precious words on.

**TFI-Muse**: Those who laugh last, laugh best? Or whatever the trite phrase is… (I'm bi-lingual, so I missed a lot of cultural references). As I said, there will be GaaNaru. It will come, because Gaara will come back and things will happen that lead to other things that lead to GaaNaru. Yup.

I'm in a really chatty mood, forgive the overly long AN.

**Question of the day**; what is your opinion of _MPREGs_? '_Yes_', '_Fuck No_', or '_Something I Will Explain_'?

**Thanks again for all of the reviews and comments, they keep me going in terms of getting this story finished. Thanks to those who are watching this story, and to those who've added me as a favourite author. I appreciate it, honestly. **

More story, less sap, next time.


	12. Chapter 10 there's no need as that betwe...

**The Little Things**

By Starapple (Martinique)

**Disclaimer**: Yeah, I wish. No, they don't belong to me.

**Thanks **go to** Letta** for helping me with my plan!

* * *

**Chapter 10 – there's no need as that between friends**

Sasuke was waiting for him, standing on the corner wearing sturdy khaki pants and a white t-shirt. He waited, very much aware that he was the only one there. He briefly wondered whether Naruto had decided to abandon him to his own cause, but he dismissed such idle thoughts. They would come to nothing. In the same way that their conversation last night had come to a sudden stop. The why blazed into existence, pursuing him over the ragged cliffs of his mind.

It was ten past six. Naruto was late, and he knew it. Usually this would have irritated him no end, because he didn't like being late. He didn't think shinobi should ever be late. He may have learnt patience from Kakashi, but a by-product had been a self-imposed work ethic to never be late. To respect deadlines. Punctuality lent itself to the business.

This, however, was a moot point on Naruto's mind. Instead he thought of last night, and how good it felt, really, to leave him waiting. He didn't care if he'd kissed him, if hands had been places they shouldn't have been, but his attitude was pissing him off.

So it felt good to leave him waiting. This is why Naruto took his time, enjoying the dawn air that was so familiar to him now. He pointedly didn't offer an apology when he finally met Sasuke, exactly seventeen minutes late. He nodded, and Sasuke started, leading the way towards his new land.

Naruto wondered why he'd offered. It didn't make sense, but then neither did lips moving against his roughly, demandingly. The walked in tandem, both lost in their thoughts. But Naruto paid attention to where they were going. Down the street, then a left, straight down and a right towards the edge of Konoha. He was faced with a thick jungle. Suddenly he felt crazy for taking this on, for agreeing to help Sasuke particularly now when everything was up in the air.

"20 acres." Sasuke murmured contentedly. Naruto wanted to shake him out of this bovine complacency. Instead he whistled appreciatively, because it is what he would have done without all of this blocking the two of them.

"Where do you want to start?" he asked. Sasuke motioned for him to follow, taking him deeper into the forest. Naruto breathed in the fresh air, clearing his lungs with the heavy scent of fresh earth and budding leaves.

"Further in. I want to keep the buildings away from the street, for privacy."

"How much land do you want to clear?" He was gearing up to the challenge.

"Eight acres – two by four, width facing the street." Sasuke stopped, throwing his arms out to give a general idea of what he wanted.

"So, do what we did for the boat? Cut down the trees, strip them and throw the logs together onto a heap?"

"Basically. Luckily the trees grow far apart, and there's a sizeable clearing nearby. We need to clear enough to build the house, which means clearing more land than the house needs." Sasuke had a grim set to his face that spoke of determination. Naruto bounced on his heels.

"Let's get started then." The benefit of being shinobi had been discovered a long time ago. Chakra control meant they could create short burst of flat energy that could be used to chop down trees. The missions spent gardening and doing other yard work suddenly had a purpose.

They got to work, Naruto humming a little off tune, Sasuke working in stoic silence. They chopped down the trees, taking them to the clearing and there stripping them off their branches.

As the sun rose towards its daily throne, their pace slowed under the unforgiving heat, until they decided to break up for lunch. They walked back into town, aware of the sweat that clung to them. The day, up to this point, had passed in companionable silence, broken by random comments from Naruto. Naruto hadn't forgotten about the bird he'd sent to Gaara, and he was confident there would be a reply today.

"I'll meet you at the inn; I need to check on something." Naruto said offhand, waiting for Sasuke to say something so he could get on with it. Sasuke shrugged, a carefully emulating Naruto's response, but it didn't sit well on his shoulders, rolling awkwardly over them. Naruto took it as it came, swiftly heading off towards the post office.

Sasuke continued on his way, the waitress didn't give him a second glance as he strode in through the door, calm suppressed fury battering at the walls of his mind. Why was he so tightly strung about Gaara anyway? It didn't make any sense if he questioned it, but there it was nonetheless, a single sphere that refused to budge.

He ordered for the both of them. He waited, the food came.

He started eating, slowly. Ten minutes later Naruto came in, deep in thought, barely avoiding low tables and chairs that stuck out. He seated himself without a word, throwing a nod of appreciation Sasuke's way for having ordered. He started to eat, but it was without thought and his customary enjoyment. Too mechanic, an automatic way of eating.

Sasuke resigned himself to waiting it out. They soon finished, but it was only when the waitress came and took the plates that Naruto seemed to shake the dour mood off himself, coming to. Sasuke knew it in the way his shoulders stretched and straightened under his tee-shirt. Like moving after being chained.

"So?" Sasuke asked, deliberately idle. Naruto blinked at him.

"Not good news." He folded his arms behind his head, Sasuke's glance roved over lean gold skin, darkened by time spent in the sun. Naruto spread his legs slightly, stretching them out to box the table, sinking slightly into the seat with a relaxed manner. "Gaara found the village. Not a lot of it left. Most dead." He paused. "On the other hand he's Kazekage now, and he's in talks with Tsunade, but what about he didn't say."

"I see." Sasuke interjected, but it went almost unnoticed as Naruto began to speak again.

"We're lucky. So lucky. This could have been like any number of other villages out there, completely destroyed, all human life obliterated without a trace. We could have been old men, waiting for time to swallow us. But we're not, we're alive, and prospering, of all things. So perverse, it doesn't make sense. At the end of the day we are just lucky." Naruto said, and Sasuke understood the feeling behind the words, one of intense guilt and relief, one warring with the other, not sure which to accept over the other. Coming to the realization that you had to live with both.

He dug in his pocket, searching for his wallet. He drew out some notes and placed them on the table, Naruto standing with him, visibly agitated.

He began again—"Don't you understand, Sasuke? We could be dead, all of this could be dead, and it would be like we found it, nothing but—."

"Yes." Sasuke ground out, grimly. The rising hysteria didn't fit Naruto, didn't fit his jaw, or teeth that glinted darkly above lips. Naruto stopped, as if aware that his thoughts were on display.

"Back to work." Naruto sighed, shifting back to the main focus of the day. They stepped out, leisurely walking back to the land, giving themselves time to digest the food.

They got back to the land, and suddenly their work over the past few hours looked more substantial than it had before. Tree trunks, bare-faced, glared at the sky. They swept their gaze over the land, the breeze drifting over flat land that rose to grassy hummocks. A moment to appreciate their work. Then they started again, creating the last section of the rectangle, Naruto humming again, Sasuke working, efficiently quiet.

They stripped down to their trousers once the sweat exhausted the last strands of dry fabric. Muscles toiled under the hot sun, cutting, stripping, stacking. They fell into the rhythm of the work, and Naruto enjoyed the simple pleasure of doing so, even if it nagged at him inside to be cutting down shelter, a home.

And it came to him unbidden, it was the image, that still picture, the shadow underneath the mushrooms that nestled at the base of the tree. A tree that was just that shade of brown, that thick bark that peeled back to reveal green-white flesh, fresh against teeth that flashed at night. It came on so unexpectedly that he lost control of his chakra and stood there, beset by a sudden onslaught of memories that weren't his but felt so familiar, as if he had been there, as if he had experienced it.

With every breath he could feel a power surge around him, something he knew and understood but had always had to ask for was his, was being given to him. Was being made his. But the images came again, mingling with the surge engulfing his lungs, the air burning as he breathed in, flickers of fire hitting villages that had dared to take his space, dared to take his trees and use them for houses and villages and fences, dared to fence him out in what was his.

His eyes shifted from that to reality, mixing the two and he could feel the seductive edge that shivered down his fingertips, dancing, sparking lightly.

The memories swam from side to side, leaving a bitter feeling of longing on his tongue, one that tasted of mountain dens hidden behind trees of the ages. Tall and proud, these trees threatened the sky, and the touch of bark against skin, against fur, against themselves was rough and satisfying.

Abruptly the feedback stopped, and Sasuke was calling down to him, wondering why the rhythm to their work had been broken.

It was time to see Tsunade.

Later that evening, after they had finished clearing the rest of the land and he'd made his excuses, after he had showered and changed, he was standing in front of Tsunade's office, waiting for her to let him in. She was working late evening, fully booked, but he'd made the nature of his troubles clear in very few words.

She opened the door for him, a hint that he hadn't been misunderstood. She looked him over, even though her gaze was sharp and piercing, the tiredness clung to her body, lines under her eyes speaking of the stress she was suffering from.

"So, tell me what happened." She said, adopting a business-like manner, offering him a seat in front of her severely crowded desk.

"Your bed-side manner is seriously lacking these days, baa-chan." He grinned at her, but it lost its strength when she barely smiled back. He got to the point. "I was chopping trees with Sasuke when all of a sudden I felt this huge power surge within me, and with it all these snapshots, images that were like memories." He paused, then whispered. "As if I had been there, all of trees, forests, mountains…. But I didn't recognize any of them." He tapped his foot in agitation.

"The fox's memories." She stated.

"Yeah."

"The fox's chakra."

"Yeah."

"Let's see your seal." She motioned for him to stand up. He stripped himself off the t-shirt, and she came round to examine it. A few long minutes passed with each breath Naruto held, hoping nothing had changed. She tickled him with gentle probings of chakra, but nothing came of it.

"Looks fine to me." She said, and Naruto let the t-shirt fall into place as they both settled back into their respective chairs. Tsunade massaged her temples slowly, letting a sigh fall past her lips. "The seal is fine Naruto, has been for the past 18 years and will continue to hold. What is happening is that you're taking over more of the chakra from the fox. You're digging into the core of the chakra now, and with it comes the many memories that are tied to that chakra."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. The seal is water-tight, but I'll get Jiraiya to check in on you when he's next back." He was somewhat reassured by this, but he considered telling her about losing his temper. Naruto didn't think that would go down very well with her, and in many respects it was a characteristic he himself had, rather than one of the fox. He had to learn to control himself, and the chakra that came with it. And she had said the seal was fine, that nothing had changed. He said nothing about it.

"Thanks, I'll leave you now." He said, standing up. Tsunade gave him a weak smile, pushing paper on her desk absently.

"Take care." She called as he left her in the office.

* * *

Sasuke fingered the slip of paper in the pocket of his slacks, despite having memorized the addresses the moment he saw them. To the point where he could recall the sharp angular writing Naruto had. He stood in front of the door of the flat, knowing that behind it lay Sakura. It bothered him. Endlessly. 

What was he supposed to say to her?

He rudely pushed those thoughts out of his head, concentrating on the task before him. He rapped on the door, three times. A polite, decisive number. He could hear movement behind the wall, steps that approached the door - he braced himself.

The door opened, revealing a tall, strong muscled man who carried himself gently. It may have been five years, but Lee was still instantly recognisable. Time with Sakura had bettered his style, Sasuke noticed.

The man gave him a blank look, gaze drifting down him to stop slightly off-center, at the small Uchiha symbol emblazoned on the shirt.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Lee's voice rumbled.

"Rock Lee." Sasuke replied. The tension was palpable, until Lee gave a knowing smile and called Sakura, stepping to the side. Sasuke came in, glancing over furniture. Lee was languid, slowly stepping from one area to the next, but as they both well knew this was deceptive. He declined sitting on the couch, not wanting to sit when Sakura wasn't in the room yet. Instead they both stood, awkwardness colouring the moment.

He was just about to make some kind of small-talk when Sakura came in, wearing dark trousers and a long pink t-shirt. She moved with an easy grace, and Sasuke nearly frowned. He bowed his head slightly, acknowledging her, and a rush of colour flooded her face

"Sasuke." She said, almost like she couldn't believe it was him. Sakura wasn't sure why exactly she wasn't punching him, not reacting in the way she had expected from herself. She wanted to laugh, to cry, to be angry at him. Instead she was looking at him as if nothing had changed other than their height. Still those deep eyes, that black hair, that strong face. The obsessive crush had ended a long time ago, rather generously supported by his defection. Lee's hand found hers, their fingers twining together behind her back. She could feel his support behind her, someone she could rely on.

"Sakura." Sasuke didn't miss the hands, and somehow nearly felt ashamed of himself. He didn't like it. "Congratulations on your engagement." He started suddenly. He thought somehow that this would break the ice, the cold frost between them. Instead her gaze narrowed, she loosened her hand from Lee, crossed the distance and slapped him. It held no real force, and Sasuke didn't duck. But it smarted, and her anger mattered more to him.

"Don't you come back and just congratulate me on my engagement!" she shouted. Lee looked uncomfortable in the background, and Sasuke bore the onslaught. "How can you just… pretend nothing happened? You left us!" she shouted, furious, but even as she shouted her words began to choke. Tears cornered her eyes, her hands flew up to her face, covering her mouth as she sought to calm down. Lee hugged her from behind and Sasuke suddenly felt so unwelcome here.

And he couldn't pretend he didn't care, that her emotions didn't matter. He didn't know why, but all of a sudden he couldn't cut himself off from it. After all, he'd come to her house. He'd reinitiated contact. At her request, but he knew that in the past he wouldn't have necessarily honoured that request.

He couldn't think of anything to say to her. She didn't understand, so how was he supposed to apologize? Seeking to calm herself down, she leant back into Lee's embrace, dimly feeling Sasuke's approach and then the extra arms that hugged her, briefly firm.

"I'm sorry, Sakura… I'm…." Sasuke started off, trying not to make this worse but somehow better.

"It's just, I have no words. Do you understand? I have no words to explain this. To tell you…. I just don't." Sakura said, and then turned away from him into Lee's chest.

"I wasn't aiming to hurt you." Naruto's words came back at him, chastising him. Suddenly he understood what he had been saying. She turned to him, and he searched her face, looking for some kind of give. He could cope with the village's mistrust, he could deal with the tension between him and Naruto, but Sakura's anger and tears? He didn't want to deal with it.

"But you did." She whispered. "I'm glad you're back, but don't think you can come in here and pretend…. I won't let you." She wiped at her tears, a determined smile on her face. "But thank you, anyway."

Sasuke smiled back, glad to see the tears gone and this shadow of a smile on her face.

"Sakura?" Lee said, reminding her.

"Oh, yes, we have to go. I'm sorry Sasuke…. I wish we had more time. Give your address to Lee here." She pecked a kiss to Lee's cheek who smiled down at her lovingly. Sasuke found it almost sickening. "I'll be just a moment, dear."

But he was also happy for her. She disappeared into the back of the flat.

"Going out to dinner with our parents." Lee explained apologetically. Sasuke was struck by the quiet manner in which Lee carried himself. It seemed a far cry from the boy who he remembered, talking about youth and flowers.

"I understand." He replied. Lee found him a pen and paper, on which he quickly scribbled his address. "I'll be going then. Have a nice evening."

He had his hand on the doorknob when Lee spoke again.

"Make sure you're staying for good this time." They both paused. "She'll forgive you soon enough." Sasuke shook his head, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Naruto was back from Sasuke's after having helped splice the trees down their middles, letting the sun dry them out. Sasuke would be employing builders for the rest, but he had enjoyed helping him. 

He answered the door, wondering who could possibly be at his door at such an hour. He was surprised to see his landlady standing in front of him, absently smiling at everything.

"Uzumaki-san?" she asked, her voice tremulous. She was a lot older than she had first seemed. He took her by the hand and gently lead her in despite the coy smiles and 'no I'm fine thank you's. Once he had her seated though she let him offer her something cool to drink, bringing a smile to her face. "I just came by to tell you –" she broke off, and Naruto recognised the sudden subject change. She heaved a heavy sigh. "Haven't been a landlady in thirty years, not since my son took over. He died on the way here though, you know, so now I have to take care of this apartment block." She put it across matter-of-factly.

"I'm sorry." Naruto patted her hand gently.

"Thank you." She peered at him over glasses. "I came by to tell you – and thank you for the drink – that the telephone company will be here tomorrow to install telephones to this block. I'll have to let them in. I hope that is fine with you?"

"Yes, thank you, yes that's fine." He replied, politely. Her frailness scared him. He couldn't see himself as being that old, ever. She roused herself, glass barely touched.

"Good, good. Take care now." He walked her to the door, seeing her out.

Naruto had taken the time to find himself something to read at a book store. He leafed through it, whiling away the time before he deemed it late enough to sleep. The flat was awfully empty, and still superficial.

It wasn't his, yet.

It was still early though, and he had just decided to cook dinner when another knock came at his door. He wondered if this would be the landlady again to tell him something else, but to his surprise he was greeted with pale white eyes.

"Neji! What a surprise! Come in, come in! How did you know I lived here?" Naruto exclaimed, happy to have someone to talk to. Neji had become a good training partner, and coupled with Hinata's rising confidence all three had become good friends.

"I'm with the Konoha Security Forces, I know where everyone is." He said, stepping through the doorway. Naruto nearly stumbled at what he said, immediately assessing the number of steps between him and Neji, the door and the three windows in this flat. It was irrational, but he couldn't help it. Neji was as tall as he was, limber and elegant. He still had his hair tied low on his back.

"Is this a house-call?" he asked slowly. He didn't like calculating possibilities, not in his flat, particularly when he considered Neji a good friend.

"Business first, then you can tell me how you survived a year with Gaara."

"Hah, okay. Come into the kitchen, I was about to start dinner. You hungry? Help yourself to something to drink." He led him into the kitchen where he began to chop vegetables up.

"I'm fine, already eaten." Neji picked out a glass from one of the cupboards, pouring himself tap water from the sink. Naruto danced around him, grabbing noodles and meat that he added to the mix, quickly frying himself a one-man meal.

"So, tell me what this is about."

"Heads of department want to know how you got into Konoha without alerting anyone. How, in fact, those on the coast missed you." He said, quick and to the point. His voice was strong and firm, almost rigid.

"Did we make them look bad?"

"Very."

"To be honest, I have no clue how we managed to get ashore without being noticed." They both knew what he was implying. "We stashed the boat as quickly as we could and headed inland. As for getting into Konoha… we waited until it was night and then slipped over the fence. Not exactly difficult."

"I see. Do you mind telling me where?" Neji pushed a map at him. Naruto studied it for a moment, trying to remember where they came in.

"Is this where the island faces the continent?" The formation of the land looked familiar. It was a rough map, clearly one of which many photocopies had been made.

"Yes."

"Then we came in here, where the forest is closest to the fence. We went down a few streets, heading towards the town centre. Nearly discovered at one point, but they went off on their merry way."

"After that you rushed the Hokage's office and Sasuke stunned the guards with a genjutsu?" Neji asked, leaning against the counter, and Naruto nodded. Neji took the map back, folded it up after making a few marks on it and pushed it into a pocket on his flak jacket.

"Is that all?"

"Yes. So." He paused. "How was Gaara?" Naruto laughed, relaxing.

"He was fine. I told you he wouldn't do anything." Neji seemed disbelieving.

"How about Sasuke?" Neji asked, both of them stilling at this point, only the slow frying of food to be heard.

"He's good. Busy building a house on his land. I've been helping him clear it." Naruto said nothing, not even thinking of late nights with palpable heat. Neji could see things with those eyes he really wish he couldn't.

"I see. Glad to be back?" Neji asked, but the question seemed to be hiding behind something. It made him hesitate to answer, but he didn't, firmly pushing contradicting thoughts out of his head.

"Overjoyed. I see you're doing well for yourself."

"It's enjoyable work." Neji handed him a plate from the cupboard. Naruto accepted it gratefully, pushing his quick meal onto the plate. He grabbed a set of chopsticks and started to eat.

"How's Hinata?" Naruto asked, crunching apologetically. Neji smiled slightly, unfazed by Naruto's manners.

"Can't wait to see you. Which is why she asked me to pass on an invitation. She wants you to come to a dinner party this Friday."

"Sounds like fun, I'll be there." Naruto slowed suddenly. "Is Sasuke invited?"

Neji sighed.

"Yes. He is. I'll tell you now, it will be tense. But the Hyuuga and Uchiha Families are related, in the end. He's been accepted back into the village, and as a family the Hyuuga are prepared to accept that. As individuals though—" he shrugged.

"What's your opinion?" Naruto interrupted.

"He came back, willingly. That has to count for something. Just how much it counts is hard to say." He replied, honestly.

"I see." He ate thoughtfully, chopsticks resting in his hand. "Why a dinner party? A barbecue would be more appropriate." He complained laughingly.

"You just like the thought of helping yourself to a lot of meat, don't you?" Neji said drily. He'd observed him at a barbecue Hinata had held one year. Besides becoming more confident, she'd turned into the organizer of social events for their rookie year group. Naruto always wondered if it hadn't been for Sasuke leaving whether Sakura would have done this herself. Neji checked on his watch. "I'll have to go now, I still need to see Sasuke himself – you understand."

"Yeah, of course, it wouldn't be a complete report otherwise." Naruto gave, forgivingly. He led him to the door, exchanging good byes.

* * *

Naruto didn't know what it was about new clothes that always made him feel so good. These in particular were of an extremely high quality, very much like Sasuke's. His mission money had finally come through, and with the unexpected inflation and interest added on top there had been a lot more money than he had foreseen. Simple shirts, white, black and navy had the Uzumaki spiral sown into them. He had a few armbands made with the same pattern, dark black with an orange or blue Uzumaki spiral emblazoned on them. 

He had on one of his shirts now, and he had to admit it felt good. It was the prologue to an evening he felt would go well. A chance to see everyone and catch up. He'd been concerned, after Neji's visit, about Sasuke's reception, but ultimately it was none of his concern.

Sasuke checked his jacket again, smoothing down the shirt before he raised his hand to rap on the door. It opened almost immediately, Naruto's head popping around its corner.

"Yo." He said, picking up the jacket on the side, locking the door behind him. "You're early."

"Yeah." Sasuke replied, choosing not to say much more. They began the trip down the hall, the staircase and out onto the street, marching together. The night air clung to them, whispered past their ears with the hint of jungle carried far over fences.

Sasuke was the first to break the silence.

"Saw Sakura a few nights back." He began.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "You seem to have come out of it unharmed." Sasuke shook his head slowly.

"She slapped me." Hadn't it been for Sasuke's thoughtful frown, Naruto may have cheered Sakura on. Loudly. "You did warn me."

"I did." They walked on for a few minutes, covering a large amount of the street. "Did you find someone?"

"The landlady?"

"Yes."

"I did. Middle-aged woman, a lot of experience, hardly any complaints from her tenants. I've discussed it with her and she's willing to take it on."

"Good. I'll let her know."

"I still don't see why you got yourself involved."

"Doesn't matter, you did what I asked of you."

"Do you know who is going to be there?" Sasuke asked. Naruto's gaze snapped to him.

"Everyone. Hinata went all out for this one, because no one from the old rookie year is absent. You included." They wandered down the street, turned right and found themselves in front of the restaurant, hopefully called 'The Gold Isle'. The inscription hanging over the entrance was fancy, and unapologetically expensive.

They walked in, eyes flickering to adjust to the smoky light. A waitress, dressed in black, came over to them.

"Table for two?"

"No, thank you. We're here with the Hyuuga Party."

"Oh, I see. Straight through the door on the right." She pointed out the path to them, and they wove past the tables beset with people to the black-lacquer double doors. The heavy doors lagged under the applied force, opening to reveal a long buzzing table full of old friends and comrades.

In Sasuke's eyes, they all were recognisable. They were all older, more defined, boundaries established. Harder. No longer malleable, path in life firmly established. They had arrived late, just in time for the first course.

Sasuke was tired. He'd done what he had set out to do in life. He hadn't taken the honourable route, just the fastest. He didn't want to fight anymore. He wanted to sit and enjoy himself, but the thought of having to face their disdain bothered him.

A few looked up at them, Ten Ten brushing a careful blank look at them. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because of him or Naruto's tails. Stories of both had long circulated the shinobi network. Naruto suppressed a sigh, noticing the way in which Sasuke hardened next to him. Naruto saw the only two free chairs were those next to Hinata and Neji, who were sat opposite each other in the middle of the table. A seating plan. She didn't miss anything.

"Uzumaki! Uchiha!" Hinata called from the middle of the hall. Naruto frowned briefly, smoothly sliding it into a smile. She hardly used his last name, but he supposed with Sasuke next to him it made sense.

"Come on Sasuke, we're sitting up there." Naruto took the lead, and Sasuke followed him closely. Sasuke nodded at those who bothered to meet his eyes – Sakura, Lee and Shikamaru. Naruto was smiling brightly at everyone, hugging Hinata and pressing a kiss to her cheeks, who'd stood to greet him. Sasuke was surprised at how much she'd changed. Her white eyes were oddly focused, targeted, and she dressed in a way that revealed her confidence in herself, hair falling behind her, oiled black.

She turned to him while Naruto made himself comfortable on her right.

"Sasuke…" she held herself regally. "It's good to have you back." There wasn't a single waver, or a stutter. He had never really paid any attention to her, but he had known about her lack of self-esteem, it had been obvious to anyone. He forced a smile to his face.

"Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate it." He was surprised at how much he truly meant that. Though he would quite happily piss off the council, somehow their acceptance of him mattered. The shinobi generation that mattered – not the old ones, or the new ones, but the people he had grown up with.

She smiled at him, and he stepped closer, grasping her hands in his and pressing a kiss to each cheek, mimicking Naruto.

Naruto watched them with interest.

Sasuke was aware of the eyes that followed him to the other side of the table were he sat down after greeting Neji. Naruto was opposite him, talking to Hinata and Shino. He roved his eyes down the rest of the table, not recognizing most of them but knowing they were all from the academy. Hinata had organized the table in strict Hyuuga fashion – they, as the hosts, were sat in the middle – and those most important sat around them. He was surprised to be sat next to Neji, and not banished somewhere at the end of the table. He didn't know whether to be relieved or suspicious. Perhaps they had sat him here because he would be one of the few people that'd actually recognise the arrangement – those from established clans tended to – and didn't want to offend him. It didn't explain Naruto, who he was sure didn't have a clue about etiquette. Even if he did know how to clean up, blonde hair tightly bound behind his head. Wine was being poured freely, and Hinata was in her element, laughing and joking, managing the table efficiently.

"Your cousin is very good at this." Sasuke said to Neji. Kiba was on his left, busy talking to some person he vaguely recognized but didn't know the name of.

"Yes, she is." There was pride in his voice, Sasuke noticed. The wine was making them all warm, and then the waiters and waitresses descended upon them, giving the first course. Conversation was abandoned in favour of food.

Sasuke found it easier to talk to Neji than he had expected. They kept the conversation superficial – something they had both mastered. Kiba was happy talking to Shino opposite him, and so they kept their table partners. Sasuke tried not to watch them out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't help it. Naruto seemed to be enjoying himself, and Hinata was liberal with her hands, grazing his shoulder, patting a hand. An empty space formed itself where his lungs ought to have been as he watched them interact.

The second course arrived, and for a few moments Hinata shifted her attentions to her left, talking to Sakura. Neji exchanged small talk with Lee, and Naruto and Sasuke found themselves adrift. Naruto smiled at him with clarity, the copious glasses of wine having done nothing to him.

"This is what life is supposed to be like!" Naruto said heartily, pouring himself more of the white. Sasuke couldn't help but agree. It was good to relax, and here in this hall, it was easy to forget about the rest of the world and everything that was going on.

Enjoying life was all about being surrounded by people. He knew that, Sasuke knew it too well. It was why he'd sought out Itachi, to honour his clan, but also to get over the grief of having lost his entire family, his mother, his father.

"Yes, yes it is." And for the first time, he felt the smile not only on his lips, but on his entire face, a lightening of the spirit.

Just as quickly the tide of conversation changed, and Hinata was speaking to Naruto again, asking him his opinion on something. Neji asked him about his plans, listening as he told him about the estate he was building, then told him a little about his work in the Konoha Police Force. It had been a shock to see him on his doorstep, asking about their break-in, but Neji had been polite. As expected.

They had finished their second course, and yet the conversations were still going all over the table. He caught Sakura giving him a reassuring smile, and he nodded back at her. The waiters took the plates away.

It was the scrape of the chair opposite him that made him snap his gaze up. Suddenly panicked at the thought of Naruto leaving, he was merely standing up, wine glass in his hand.

The table fell silent.

"I've been asked to keep this short. Again." Naruto began, and most quirked smiles. Sasuke was too shocked to think about anything. "First of all, thanks go to our host and hostess, Neji and Hinata, who as usual have made sure that we all have a fantastic time. Hinata, your taste is impeccable, and Neji… well, I don't know what you contributed. To bring this to a close, this is the first time we have all been together since those academy days." He held up his wine glass. "To us."

Wine glasses went up simultaneously, a chorus of 'to us' echoing down the table as people drank to continued health and companionship.

Naruto found his seat, and Sasuke burned red at Hinata's hand as she thanked him for the brief, flawless toast.

And he suddenly realised he'd underestimated Naruto. He knew what he was doing. He could expect it of Neji and Hinata, because they had been brought up that way. Even in the middle of the jungle, their backs remained straight. But Naruto slipped from one role into the other seamlessly. Watching him kill and seeing him opposite him, drinking, and Sasuke always had known that he was smart, but there it was, behind blue eyes, staring at him, telling him that they could be darker, dangerous. And cold. But burning.

It was much later, after the dessert, once they had said goodbye to everyone, Sasuke standing behind Naruto, and were out on the road heading home that Naruto asked him if he had enjoyed himself.

"I did. The Hyuuga know how to throw a dinner party." Sasuke replied. Naruto laughed.

"That they do. Come on though. Seriously. I know you noticed the stares."

"They had good reason to be staring, I guess." Sasuke kept his eyes on the road.

"We had more than our fair share of them."

"I wasn't exactly well-received."

"Because you expected them to welcome you home with open arms?" Naruto questioned sarcastically, but the good humour was still evident in the voice. Sasuke relaxed his shoulders, letting the wine sloshing in his stomach guide him.

"I don't know what I expected." He said, softly. It was the hand on his arm that stopped him. He itched to throw it off. He hadn't thought it out this far. As much as he hated to think it, he'd thought of Konoha as the destination, not the goal. The place where Naruto lived.

"Nothing stays the same." Naruto ground out. The wind buffeted them.

"You're wrong." A harsh reply. "It's the little things that stay the same." The hand gripped tighter, it burnt red in his mind. Naruto shook his head slowly.

"If you don't explain it to them, how do you expect them to—."

"I don't owe them an explanation." Sasuke cut in.

"You're wrong." Naruto nearly growled out. Sasuke shook himself free from Naruto's grasp, heading down to the corner. "But I know you won't explain it to them, so live with it." He called after him, following with his eyes the lean figure as it stalked away from him. He unclenched his fist, burying the urge to punch him until he finally understood.

* * *

The news spread as soon as it was confirmed. From then on Konoha was bustling with activity. Temporary halls were set up while builders began to throw up more flats. More land was cleared, more food was planted and plans for rationing this winter were set up – all in case something should go wrong. 

Over the past few years Konoha and the Sand Village had become close allies. It made sense that they help each other, especially in such a fragile political climate. There wasn't even a political community to speak of anymore. Not really. Everything had degenerated into a battle of survival. Demons against the humans.

All of this came to Naruto in bits and pieces, but Tsunade ordered him to come to the shore and meet Gaara. Naruto hadn't turned it down.

The news that he was doing so had spread very quickly too.

The sun was shining brightly that early morning. Tsunade and a variety of officers from the police force – Neji included, were gathered on the beach, waiting. Small, wide ships littered the sea, bobbing in the calm. Naruto could make out a mass of people on the continent lining the seashore. The tang of the sea filled his nostrils, salty and damp.

He ran his eyes over Tsunade, noticing she seemed tense, but more rested than before. Noticing him, she flashed him a smile, then turned back to the other shore. The first ship docked on the other side. Gaara had made some makeshift docks out of sand.

A mere two hours later, all of the Sand Village was assembled on the shore. Registration tables took their tables, guides took them to the village. Half were civilians from shinobi families, the very sturdy few that survived the disease and lack of food. The rest were all shinobi. They were all tagged, and moved into a different hall.

Last to leave the ship was Gaara. He stood at the bottom, casting a quick assessing glance over the proceedings. He spotted Naruto, nodding at him. He then approached Tsunade, exchanging words. The discussion was quick and to the point. Tsunade waved him over.

"Naruto, Gaara." She sent them a sharp nod, leaving them.

"Naruto." Gaara said, and Naruto could taste the sand on his voice.

"Gaara. You alright?" It was a simple question, but between them it was loaded with much more than that. The beach seemed too bright for this kind of question.

"Yes, I am." He said simply. Naruto smiled. Green eyes watched him.

"Kazekage, huh?" Naruto inquired.

"The man died." Naruto should have expected such a straight-forward answer.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, wanting to hear it from the one person that truly knew. Gaara eyed him, steering them to the edge of the forest where they sat on the roots of a tree.

"I found the village. As usual, I passed by the cemetery. I found people at work, burying bodies. They'd given up on individual graves. One mass grave had been dug. They were throwing lime over it. I haven't seen them do something like that since we were at war. I tried to see the Kazekage, only to find out he was dead and that the entire village was in disarray. His second-in-command had died; most of the governing council was gone. I found out from a few people that in my absence trade had crumbled. Contact with villages had been lost. The village ran out of food, now that none was coming in. Rationing didn't work for very long. Then disease swept through, brought on by a lack of water. Most of the civilian population was dead by the time I got there. Eighty percent of the village, Naruto. I spent the next few days organizing everything. We were weak, and no one pulled it back together. Temari and Kankuro came back from their scouting trip, all of us shocked. I started correspondence with your Hokage, and arranged for all of us to be brought into Konoha."

"You're okay with that?" Naruto frowned. Gaara seemed different. The clothes were those of the Kazekage, but something tasted off.

"What?"

"Giving up Sand's identity."

Gaara looked at him, and then at the dregs he called his village.

"What would you have done?" he replied, finally. "Trade had made us soft. It was bound to happen." Naruto said nothing. "Being the head of a village isn't any fun. Just a lot of responsibility and bad news, constantly. Without rest. Good thing I'm an insomniac." They both laughed, and to Naruto the sound of it was strange. Gaara's laugh tickled his ears with its sincerity, a clean easy laugh that ran unimpeded along the air currents.

Naruto hugged him from the side, and Gaara clutched at his bare arm, both laughing.

* * *

**AN**: I dislike this chapter, so much. It's a necessary evil, because it will pave the way for the conclusion. Okay. 

And yeah, Gaara is back.

I think all three of them are resisting my attempts at channelling them. And Sakura… just, urgh. And I thought Neji was too chatty, but then again, we heard his entire history during the battle, so it does make sense that now he's over that, he talks more. Yeah.

In response to mpregs. I love them. A well-written mpreg can entertain me for absolute ages. If only more people who started them would finish them!

I was going to do the usual address… but I'm tired. As for when Sasuke and Naruto are getting together… well, that's for me to know and you to find out. I hope that last chapter didn't confuse too much. I can be too vague. Other pairings? Well, there are no other yaoi pairings, but there's LeeSaku, one-sided HinaNaru and a little bit of ShikaIno (although now Temari is back in town, who knows how long that will last…).

Okay, I'm out of things to babble about now. Peace, cookies and all that.


	13. Chapter 11 you're falling, you're rising

**The Little Things**

**Author**: Starapple/Martinique  
**Disclaimer**: The usual applies. Not mine, won't ever be etc.

* * *

**Chapter 11 – you're falling, you're rising**

Gaara was at ease. The feeling didn't sit well in him, but for a brief moment he fell back into his chair. The Hokage had given him his own office next to hers until they could be completely integrated. For now he would be dealing with all the problems. There didn't seem to be any on the civilian side, who'd taken to getting themselves involved with the building of houses and flats, or opening new stores to add to the multitude which Konoha already had. The few children – mainly the older ones – had already been enrolled with the Academy and his teachers had joined them too.

His shinobi had nagged him with a variety of problems, but he found that glaring at them had made them retreat.

That too had changed. He'd had to find patience somewhere deep inside. Not just the strength to keep Shukaku at bay by not sleeping, but also the patience to deal with problems he would rather not deal with.

The first few days the urge to strangle someone with sand for their ineptitude was overwhelming, and he could feel Shukaku almost giggling with unabashed glee at the very thought of it. Temari had been there, had seen the sand snake automatically up the hapless messenger's leg as he quivered in front of him. It had been her presence, the warning glare and the audible click of her fan that had stopped him, made the sand recoil. Shukaku had sulked, but Gaara had been shocked to find it so easy to hold him back, to not want to do harm.

It was easy to give in. And Gaara could still remember how his own sand had betrayed him, changing form under Naruto's heat until it burnt him. And Naruto hadn't been there, and he thought he'd nearly lost him.

Or how little he actually had to think when he directed his sand to cover Naruto. They worked well together, but it came out of a reflex to never lose. Not to lose something he wanted.

Gaara bit his lip, deliberately. The bitter metallic tang of his own blood ran onto his tongue, a warning to himself.

He could still hurt himself.

That's what he was allowing Naruto to do, or was he? Guilt pricked at him, that sand crowding Naruto in a flawless dome. The screams he had ignored, pushing them to the back of his mind because he'd never repeat the first action, never try to pin him down.

Naruto was spontaneous, impossible to hold down. Fire. Licking across the landscape, and if he gave him too much room he'd burn everything alive. He left his mark on everyone.

The memory of pain had long dulled, but it had been a steady presence those first few days after his loss of control.

Gaara didn't know what to call it. Naruto called it his temper, but Gaara knew better. He'd experienced it himself, when he was younger. That simple fast urge to act, regardless of any right or wrong. The only right that existed was survival.

Naruto was good at tricking himself into believing what he wanted, but Gaara knew better. He ran his tongue over his teeth, searching for the last traces of blood, wound already healed.

They'd always be watched. Right now, when they were smiling and laughing and helping the village all would be well, but he knew better, knew bitterly how their usefulness would end and then they'd be watched for hints of insanity. The first hints and they'd demand they leave, or chain them to the ground, stupid stupid thoughts when they couldn't match them in any way.

So he didn't really know why he did what he did for his village. Why he had brought them here. And he knew better than to lie to himself, because he didn't have a convincing tongue that rose in tones towards a persuasive point like Naruto. He didn't deal in semantics and other slick words, never pretended to move from one role into another smoothly. They still feared him, and in his mind he spat the words, _as they should_.

That didn't mean he couldn't pretend when he wanted to. Even if he'd stopped his sand more often than even he wanted to.

He knew and he didn't why he was here and it had everything to do with caves and a year spent abroad and hunts and night time prey and fire and sand.

The fence was almost at breaking point, Shukaku hulking behind and he knew it was time to see the Hokage because he had no intention of stopping now.

As he stepped back into the bustling front office of the building, he noticed how truly bare his room was in comparison. Whoever had occupied it before him had taken all of their belongings. The floor was unrefined hardwood, walls bare, windows uncovered.

They had become used to him. He nodded at his two guards, stepping through the room towards the Hokage's door. The double doors opened to him without question.

"Hokage." He spoke. The air tasted differently here, he noticed that much. Everything was different. He'd left his gourd in the other room, his shoulders felt deceptively light, but if he really wanted to he could dismantle this entire sector of Konoha for sand. She looked up at him, a brief raising of the eyebrow betraying her surprise. This was the first time he had stepped into her office without prior arrangement. Playing by the rules.

"Kazekage." She nodded him into a seat. Despite how well this was going, they both moved around each other gingerly. Neither wanted this to go wrong, they both had more than enough to worry about.

"I require an examination." Tsunade didn't miss the thrust of the request. "I don't have a seal for you to look at. Shukaku shares my brain. He's been active." Gaara clipped the sentences off. He resented having to ask for help, but if he didn't where would that leave him? If he killed it would be in his name only. And even as he called Naruto naïve, there was something to be said for his belief in his Hokage.

"Fine." She stood up, rolling sleeves to her elbow. She circled to the other side of the desk, standing in front of him because she knew better to try and do this from behind him. "I'm going to probe with a little chakra." She warned, waiting for his consent before going further. The touch of her fingers, wielding benign energy, swirled into his skull. He itched for the sand. Shukaku itched for the sand, he could hear the angry rumbles in the back of his mind. "Hmmm." She murmured to herself. Her fingers were quick and thorough, stopping as soon as they had begun.

She stepped back to her seat, and Gaara watched her movements, suppressing lingering hate, ancient darkness bearing down to the forefront of his mind.

"I don't know." Deep disgust settled into the pit of his stomach. "Rather, I'm not sure. I need to know some details. How did you get it?" Tsunade settled back into the seat, but Gaara knew it was a practised stance. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her anything about him.

"It was kept in a kettle. Somehow fed into me at birth. I killed my mother." To her credit, she didn't even flinch. "I can't sleep, otherwise it takes over."

"In that case, I would say that you are merging, only it is a little more complicated because there is no seal to control the merging. You're going to have to exert all your influence to remain yourself, a distinct individual. Share too much with Shukaku, and it will begin to eat at those commonalities until it finds a way to your core. It will devour your personality." Tsunade pinned him with hard eyes. Gaara stood, calming the dangerous thoughts, stilling and pushing them back. He knew this. This is why he couldn't sleep. "This is all a theory, but if you keep at it, you should be able to sleep soon. Shukaku's fighting because time is different to him. It thought it could outwait you. That you, as the medium, would have to give in eventually. Now it is scared because it sees that it isn't so."

He looked at her, and inside he felt a poorly concealed shudder from that thing hiding in the shadows.

"You mean to tell me that I have to be different to it?"

"I'm saying that you are merging, and you're getting the skills and the chakra that go along with it. But the dominant personality will take over unless yours changes from his. Some of your emotions echo its, and they will overtake yours. You're at the crossroads. It knows you're more different now than you were before, and it is scared that it will lose." He knew what she was truly saying. _You're both killers_. And was Sasuke right for calling him a homicidal maniac?

Gaara inclined his head, lowering his eyes to the floor. It felt unnatural, and uncomfortable. He was aware this was the first time he had ever inclined his head since his father attempted to assassinate him over a decade ago.

He exited the room without another word.

The promise of something new, of the possibility of freedom…. He didn't know what sleep was like, and he wasn't sure what tired meant either. He knew what loss of stamina was like, but he'd been tired since the first day of his life, the word had lost its meaning.

That's the thought that had always gone through his head when he watched Naruto sleep. He could have walked all night, every night. Instead he sat around the fire, watching his even breathing. And then later, after that episode, he'd sit in the shadows, watching him, stroking over the new skin on his arm.

Still. It didn't change anything. He would still kill in his own name. What made him so different to Shukaku, then?

* * *

It had been weeks since he last saw anyone. Sasuke had withdrawn, not answering messages, not bothering to call. Sakura and Lee were busy with their own lives, Neji had a job, Hinata was studying and everyone else he knew was busy in one way or another. He had no intention of tracking Sasuke down. Not when he knew this new, priggish behaviour stemmed from Gaara. 

And he hadn't seen Gaara for a few weeks either. Once he'd helped him settle in – which had only taken two days – Gaara had made his excuses, helping Sand. He couldn't fault him, but it didn't change the fact that he was bored.

The beauty of Gaara, in his mind, was that he didn't have to think of any conversation, anything entertaining or witty. They understood each other, and that said all it needed to, for both of them. There was a wistful drag to his steps through the village, forehead protector abandoned for the time being.

He was feeling lonely. He just couldn't hack being alone, and then to top it off, in this concrete cemetery! There might be people all around, and he was glad for it, but he didn't feel connected to them. It was a changing perspective, he was over the rose-view of the world. Of Konoha. The year had made him miss everything, and everything about it had been the best he had ever known. Until he got back, and suddenly remembered what he didn't like about Konoha. The people. The isolation. The stares.

It was difficult not to think about it when he didn't have something else to think about. Concrete was concrete wherever. Paint felt the same on all surfaces. It wasn't like the different textures on a strip of bark, or the changing gradients of sand in a cliff face.

He couldn't even feel happy about having Jiraiya reassure him about his seal. The pleasure of seeing him again, even if it came with a bottle of sake and lengthy reviews of his latest Icha Icha Paradise Anthology, had still only had a transitory effect.

And Kakashi's appearance, momentary as it had been, hadn't served to cheer him up either. He'd waved at him lazily from a side street before disappearing in his customary way.

He was feeling desperately honest, he felt unneeded and neglected and bored and all those things, and he wanted to have some company.

It was the light knock on the back of his head that made him turn around to scowl darkly at them. The fan sat in her hand, balanced on a shoulder. Kankuro lazed next to her, looking off into the distance.

"Naruto." He said, by way of greeting. A brief meeting of eyes, a nod, then back into the crowds down the road. Temari looks sharper after all these years, a tall solid willow figure. Naruto can feel the roots that she throws down wherever she stands, unmoveable. There is a huge wisdom behind her eyes, and Naruto guesses that the unchanging line of sand on the night horizon leaves room for thought.

"Temari. Kankuro. How are you adjusting to Konoha?"

"I see Toru. Excuse me." Kankuro bit out in clipped tones, striking down the road for the person he saw.

"The amount of water makes up for it." She cocked her gaze at him, and the air swirled around them, panicked.

"How's your brother?" Naruto asked, following the line of lips back to her eyes. She smiled at him.

"He's doing very well. Being Kazekage has helped him." She assessed him, wondering if crossing a line would cause difficulties. She shook it off. "He's changed. A lot." She waited expectantly. Anything less than honesty with her would be dangerous, especially now that she had said this…. Naruto flicked his eyes at her.

"You're being very open."

"I wonder how much you had to do with this." She said, idly, fan firm in hand.

"Perhaps too open?" he replied, just as idly. He didn't know why she was generating this current of hostility. He didn't mind her, but she'd touched on something that was purely him and Gaara. It had nothing to do with her, family or not.

She tightened her grip on the fan, he could see it in the way muscles stretched over the bridge of her hand, framing bone.

"Nearly all of my village is gone, and you're telling me I'm being too open? Don't be stupid." She angrily reprimanded. "I don't have time for secrets. No one does. Least of all shinobi."

That took all of the anger out of him, dissolving it into the greater backdrop. Besides, she would say whatever she wanted to, he knew this, so he had no call to get upset at something like this.

She went on: "You've changed too. You both have." The cause was implicit in her words, and Naruto did not miss it. Still, he resented it.

"For better, or for the worse?" he asked, nevertheless curious. He couldn't help but want to know, it was in his nature.

She shook her head, declining to answer. She looked over his shoulder, presumably at Kankuro.

Making her excuses, she sidled past him. "Watch your tails, Uzumaki." was her parting shot.

He was left frowning in the middle of the street.

* * *

The knock on the door was quiet, but it woke Naruto immediately. He had taken to sleeping on the couch, and it had worn a kink into his back that he tried to straighten out as he stepped across the room to open the door. 

He didn't expect to be faced with Gaara. In fact, he hadn't seen anyone for nearly two months. So Gaara, leaning against the doorframe was a surprise to him. There was a still urgency in him, a tightly wound spring ready to unfurl.

"Can I come in?" he asked, green eyes barely visible. But he could feel the heat under them, a heat that threatened to obliterate him if the full force of those eyes were turned on him. He opened the door wider. Gaara steps in, and he notices the lack of tension in his face.

That makes him relax, because it is proof that they can both win at this.

"Why the fuck couldn't this wait?" Naruto yawns. The air falls and tenses between them, and Gaara pushes into action. It's like watching him moving through water, Naruto almost sees every single moment, and then it simply _is_ and Gaara's lips are sliding against his demandingly; a sound forms at the back of his throat. It bubbles up into Gaara's mouth, swallowing a deep moan. Gaara is ungraceful with his tongue, letting it flow over teeth, canines, in stilted gasps, while Naruto relaxes into his iron grip, almost bruising.

He's not quite there, not taking in what is happening, but his body is reacting and he knows this too, in the way his stomach tightens at _this_. His tails are frizzing behind him and he has no way in controlling it, but the feel of hands on his sides, holding him there is comforting with the barely repressed violence that skulks beneath the surface. Naruto finds himself growling in response to the sounds Gaara is making, the one barely covered by heavy breathing and the shivery rustle of fabric and the pounding of heartbeats; a low near-keening noise that reverberates around them. Naruto finds himself wanting this, and his own hands rise to pull Gaara closer, so that hips meet to rub slowly, torturously, bunching his clothes, twisting the fabric out of shape.

He breaks off, and Naruto sees his green eyes, really sees them for a moment without a single twitch of fear following, because he knows that anything that will happen will come from Gaara alone, and that is reassuring, lets him lead Gaara to his room, lets him allow Gaara to push him onto the bed and hang above him.

Lets him pin his arms above his head, lets him bruise him with kisses to his lips, trailing desert heat down his jaw to an ear, rocking slowly into him until his trousers feel too tight, and he knows Gaara's are too. The danger is there in his eyes, but Naruto knows Gaara sees it in him too, in the way his tails flicker between his legs in frustration.

And they both know this could be harder, but there's a pleasure in keeping it back that they know only the other can understand. That only a year abroad with each other could possibly make clear. The shirts are gone in moments, and Gaara slips a hand down Naruto's trousers, massaging without apology, relishing this feeling of almost control, exultant at this sight, at bringing such a look on Naruto's face even if fangs glimpse sharply in the slatted moonlight.

Gaara lets go of his wrists, and Naruto pulls Gaara back up to him, dragging him flush to his body, twisting upwards to feel more of the heat that is being generated, delirious almost with a kind of fever flitting to the base of his spine. Gaara buries his hands in his hair, scratching along his scalp and Naruto is sure he can still taste the sand salt on his lips, the taste of Gaara that he follows from his lips to his collarbone, nibbling hungrily.

He pushes Gaara to his side, sitting up to root for lube that is somewhere under his bed. Gaara watches him, curious and apprehensive because he hadn't planned on this but he should have known that this was Naruto, of all people.

Naruto returns to his side, and he almost asks if this is okay but those eyes, that stance tells him not to be so stupid as to actually ask something like that, because it is Gaara, even if he suspects this is his first time. Because Gaara has no time for this, and no one would ever pursue him. And Naruto isn't sure he has been pursuing him, but what does it matter now when Gaara's here? Here and ready and willing, helping him take off his trousers and then his own and he's between his legs, tasting the musk and heat and force, bruising hips and skittering rough fingers across skin that has always been safe.

He makes humming noises that calm, but they are both ready and they move so slowly together it aches.

Naruto pulls off him, stretching muscles contentedly. Gaara lies to his right, eyes drooping closed.

* * *

What he didn't expect was to wake up in the morning without an audience. His muscles were slack, in the only way a good release could make them, and he knew he had a grin on his face that only came from last night. Turning to his side, he expected to see Gaara sitting at the head of his bed, reading something, or perhaps just staring off into the distance, or letting the sunshine hit him on the face. 

Gaara was sleeping. The yawn ended mid-realisation as he slowly but surely began to panic – how long had this been going on, and why? In the pauses between his heartbeat he could hear the quiet sliver, and looking over his bed he could see sand corns moving slowly under the bed to enshroud Gaara.

"Gaara!" No response. "GAARA!" And the panic came to him unbidden, and he could feel himself rising in a crouch and jumping over to Gaara, straddling his hips, seeing through a thickening red haze the peaceful profile of Gaara. The moment sunk into him, that peace, that quietness and embedded itself into his memory, never to be forgotten. The sand paced, and now that he could hear it he could feel the pall begin to cover him, even if it was from underneath and he could still move faster than it but Gaara was sleeping and there was no way Konoha could handle a battle so he did the next best thing and punched Gaara in the gut.

He bolted awake, and in reflex the sand propelled him off his lap, sending him sprawling to land awkwardly on the other side of the room against the wall. But it relaxed him, made the red recede, soothed away the pain. His shoulder throbbed in angry reply to the sand, but Gaara was awake and it allowed other questions into his mind.

"Gaara?" and he wasn't sure why his voice was this shaky. And Gaara was in no better shape, looking more surprised than the time Sasuke had managed to actually hit him.

"I'm— I'm sorry, I don't understand…." He rattled off, and Naruto knows there is something below the surface that Gaara hadn't planned for and it made him wonder what this was now, between them. He didn't want to think about it, wanted to go back to what he knew and understood.

"Why were you sleeping?" he asked, and the rising tone is in his voice too. Gaara falls back against the headboard, slumping out of stiff-backed surprise.

"I've…managed to sleep a few minutes every now and again most of my life, but over the past two weeks I've been able to sleep for nearly an hour at a time."

"Your sand was rising." Gaara says nothing to this. "What if it takes over?" At this he fixes Naruto with a gaze, and he understands that Gaara knows.

"I know." He confirms, and Naruto understands why Gaara was at his door last night, and he can almost laugh if Gaara let him fuck him in exchange for guarding his sanity.

And he's sad if it was that, because Gaara should know he'd do anything for him, no questions asked, because he understands him.

As simple as that.

* * *

The sun was shining down on Konoha brightly, and Naruto couldn't help but have a slow roll in his step, infused with the sun's warmth. His thoughts skittered around a single issue, reinforced by the summer's edge. July. He had only one day before it was Sasuke's birthday, and he had nothing to show for it. 

It was a Saturday, and he'd rung up Sakura, begging to see her. He hadn't been totally isolated so far, and Gaara coming to visit from time to time made him always feel better. They kept it simple and without words, but he was left unsure at the edge somewhere, of something.

And now, Sasuke's birthday and he still hadn't seen him, so this was as good an excuse as any to get him something. He didn't know why and he was almost sure it wouldn't do anything. He didn't want it to do anything.

He found himself outside her door. A ring of the bell and he had little to wait before the door opened up on him, Sakura clad in easy clothes, hair tied back high on her head.

"Morning!" she chirped brightly, leading him into her flat and down to the couch.

"Hey." He replied, and suddenly he wasn't sure this was the best idea. She was still soft around the edges about this entire affair.

"Want something to drink?" she asked. Naruto was sure she could be walking on air if she tried just a little harder; she was that radiant. He'd managed to push it back, and he felt sincerely happy for her, but he was jealous of what she had. He wanted that something that could make him walk around with a ready smile on his face. Those first few hours with Gaara the first time around had made him feel so great. Like feeling new again, of going somewhere.

"No, no, I'm fine. Thanks." He says, and she settles back down onto the couch, fingering the ring around her neck once more. He almost wants to ask her to stop doing that. She can't help it though, while he can.

"So…?" she asks, knowing he wanted something. Naruto doesn't really want to get straight to the point though.

"How have you been?" he asks instead, hoping to distract her and gather his thoughts.

"Good. And you?" she replies, almost automatically.

"Not bad." He answers, and he knows there is no point in going on like this because he's going to have to broach the issue eventually. "You know what day it is today?"

"July 22nd." She looks at him with some interest, there's a sharp refocusing of her pupils that tells him everything he needs to know.

"Tomorrow is the 23rd." he emphasises.

"And?" face carefully blank, but she knew he knew what that face meant. He could still read her emotions, even as she sought to hide behind a polite sigh.

"Sasuke's Birthday." Naruto sighed. "I don't know what to get him, so I was wondering if you had any suggestions?"

"I don't." She replies, immediately.

"You haven't even given a thought to it!" Naruto accused. It is half-hearted though, and she knows it too; they both know the other too well. Naruto never expected to know Sakura this well, never expected to have the chance to do so.

"I don't want to." She replies, easily.

"Why?" he demanded. He only got an uncomfortable shrug. "Don't you care?"

"He didn't care." Her face sets, hardens, glassy eyes flashing solid.

"You don't understand."

"And? I don't want to give him something. When has he ever celebrated our birthdays?"

"When did we ever celebrate each other's birthdays? Not until he left. We should get him something."

"If you want to, go ahead. Count me out."

"That's cold, Sakura. I can't believe—"

"So what? It's my choice, just as he chose to run off. I'll live with it."

"Look, I've never agreed with him going, you know this. We've talked about this. He should have stayed, but I still understand why he had to do what he had to do. Sometimes there are things that cannot wait. Itachi was one of them. If you can't understand that, then there's little hope of understanding Sasuke." Sakura was still stubbornly holding to her opinion. Naruto stood up. "If it wouldn't kill me, I'd kill the fox. Do you understand what I'm saying, Sakura?"

She didn't say anything. Naruto picked his way across the carpet over to the door.

"I have to forgive him completely before I can happily pretend on his birthday, Naruto." She paused, searching his face. "But if you already have, get him something practical."

Naruto searched the ceiling for cracks, for a pattern to follow.

"I—Thanks. I'll see you around. Say hi to Lee for me please?"

"I will. Stay safe." He stepped out of the door, closing it softly behind him. It hadn't gone as expected, and he wasn't sure if this was better or worse than expected. It didn't matter. Practical, she said. Usually she was more specific, but she was too upset to be that gracious with her advice.

He wandered the streets, dipping in and out of stores. Nothing spoke to him. Everything was too beautiful, or too useless for a gift for Sasuke, never mind one given by himself.

A card would have been easier.

He finally came across a store that hadn't been there the last time he had visited the main shopping square. He recognized it as one of the stores that Jiraiya liked to visit for stocking up on shinobi-related gear before he went off on another trip. Nearing the end of any sort of patience, and the day, he entered, the bell ringing to alert the shopkeeper. He recognized the grizzled old man.

"Can I help you?" he croaked, but it was with a firm, no-nonsense approach.

"I'm looking for something to give a friend."

"A gift?" the old man frowned, disapproving of the thought of any of these weapons, pills and assorted materials being gifts.

"To a fellow shinobi. Something he doesn't have yet. It has to be useful."

"A jutsu scroll?" The man offered, reassured they weren't talking about a civilian.

"No, I don't know which he already knows." And Naruto knew he probably wouldn't care for any Jutsu that didn't have 'Forbidden' written on it. He wouldn't be surprised either if he hadn't already copied it from someone during his time with Orochimaru.

A weapon was out of the question. The thought of giving him something like that simply didn't sit well with him. He took a look around the store, but nothing truly spoke out at him.

"Is there anything else you carry that isn't on display?" he asked him.

"Yes, there are some types of soldier pills behind the counter…" he patted the glass, and Naruto quickly dismissed them. After hearing about Chouji, he never wanted to have to rely on them. "As well as sticks of explosive, poisons and kuchiyose scrolls."

"Kuchiyose scrolls?" The thought turned in his head, that perhaps he had found a suitable gift. Something practical.

"Yes. Would you like to see them?"

"Yes, please." He waited as the man drew out a collection of scrolls from an iron box, spreading them out over the counter. He dismissed the first few, even if the thought of Sasuke riding a huge grasshopper was an amusing thought. "These are quite heavily priced." He remarked.

"That's because they are the last ones from Konoha. Here are the new ones, from this area. A lot cheaper because no one wants one." Naruto took a look over the new ones, and spotted one that looked promising. A family of large cats, with a few lesser relatives. At home in the jungle and similar geography.

"What about the large cats kuchiyose?"

"Excellent at doing what they are supposed to, but very strong-willed. Hard to control. Especially the largest puma, he tends to argue a lot or simply ignore the summoner." Naruto wavered briefly, but he needed a present and this one was a good choice. And Sasuke could handle it, he was sure of it. He never backed down from a challenge.

"I'll take it." It was cheaper too. He pulled out his card and handed it to the old man. Once he had signed for it, he heaved the roll over his shoulder and proceeded to make his way home.

* * *

It was late evening, and most certainly the 23rd of July. It was making him nervous, and for what reason he couldn't say. Sasuke knew he was coming over, they'd spoken briefly over the phone. He couldn't gauge Sasuke's mood, but he hadn't said he couldn't come over. 

Picking up the scroll, now bound with a bow – Hinata, removing the twine he had used, insisted it made all the difference – he went over to Sasuke's. The breeze cooled his anxiety, and he was trying to suppress all the reasons to be nervous. He knew Sasuke, Sasuke was a friend, an old team mate, an academy member and he liked him so it made sense to give him a gift, didn't it?

The thoughts circled in his head, snapping at the corners of his mind.

Eventually he was at Sasuke's flat. He wondered how the building of his estate was going. He knocked on the door.

"Hey." He said as soon as the door opened, heart rate pacing upwards. Sasuke nodded for him to come in, closing the door behind him. Naruto shifted awkwardly on his feet, and Sasuke was closed off. Sasuke looked at him, eyes drifting to the scroll balanced on his shoulder. "Happy Birthday, you old goat." A smile tugged at Sasuke's lips, almost visible, and Naruto relaxed.

"Thanks. Have a drink with me?" He padded over to the kitchen, drawing out a bottle. "The Hyuuga's sent a bottle of fine wine." Naruto followed, taking the proffered glass. Undoubtedly Hinata's doing.

"For you." He placed the scroll on his table. On the other end he could see a card idly thrown back onto the envelope it had emerged from. The card that came with the wine. He should have just gone for the card, this had been a bad idea, no matter what he told himself.

"You didn't have to." Sasuke said, frowning at him. He wasn't the type to get excited about his birthday, and before Naruto had never wanted to think about his and what it meant.

"I know." Sasuke looked at it, drew it closer and undid the bow. Naruto knew he cared far too much about Sasuke liking the gift. He held his breath as he unrolled it, concentrating on his long fingers as they skimmed the top.

"A kuchiyose?" he asked, disbelieving. His eyes snapped back to Naruto, Sharingan swirling at an agitated, but safe pace. Naruto wasn't sure what to say.

"Yeah, I mean… I thought you'd like something like this. Something practical."

"Fuck…" he began. "Thank you…. I really mean it, this is amazing. You shouldn't have, but… thanks." Naruto thought that alone had made it worth buying. Seeing Sasuke nearly speechless was worth it.

Sasuke read the rest of it, and Naruto watched him, sipping at his wine.

"Here, take a look at this." Sasuke pushed a take-away menu at him. He rolled up the kuchiyose, tying the ribbon around it again. Naruto scanned the menu, selecting a few numbers that looked good. Sasuke took it back, having carefully put away the scroll for now. He rang up, ordering for them both.

"What have you been doing today?" Naruto asks once he hangs up. They take seats on a cough, Sasuke resting a leg on his knee, Naruto slouching backwards into a relaxing stance, tails flaring at his sides.

"Not much. Stayed in, received the card from the Hyuuga's. Checked up on how the building is going."

"How is it going?"

"Not badly. They are getting on with it. I insisted they did the roofs now."

"Good idea, you don't want to be surprised by the monsoon rains."

"Exactly. So. Not much really. If you want to see how it is going you should come with me on Monday. They are going to start plastering the inside."

"Sure. I'd love to." He agreed, and Sasuke nodded.

"What have you been doing lately?"

"Not much either." He didn't want to talk about Gaara. "Everyone is busy. I saw Jiraiya and Kakashi. Not for very long, but at least they are still around."

"Kakashi. Haven't seen him yet. Saw your old sensei though."

"Really? Talked to him?"

"No. We were both passing through, I don't think he saw me."

"Oh." He sipped at his wine. "It's been so many weeks since we last saw each other, and yet it seems nothing has happened."

"Sand arriving was a pretty big event."

"There haven't been any problems." He forestalled, thinking that was perhaps not the best move.

"Not even with Gaara?" he asked. It was a deliberate question. Naruto frowned, still unwilling to give anything away.

"He hasn't killed anyone, if that's what you mean." He tried to joke, but it came off flat in his own ears, because he knew Gaara and a year didn't change cold killer eyes in the dark or death on the way to a chuunin exam. He wouldn't call it murder. Inside him, something couldn't call it murder, even if that is what it was. The shock of that had worn off soon enough; it was the fact that it could have been him and Shikamaru instead of those grubby fixers.

"I'm surprised." It was meant to fill the space, but there was a tone in the back of it that Naruto heard, dimly. Making him forget the day.

"Why?" it was a loaded question, tearing the conversation from no man's land into the trenches.

"Everyone expected him to lose his mind." He replied, simply. Naruto kept still, tension clutching with claws at his stomach. _So had he_. There was only so much he could hide from himself, and in this case it slipped from the bindings and to the forefront of his mind. Only the comfort of the recent examinations eased the cold fear, and the memory of sand piled high in dome shapes, the gilded panic of Gaara, eyes closed.

And now, he slept little, listening for sand.

"I suppose so." He replied finally, in an easy way.

The conversation found itself onto lighter topics. There had been talk across the town of moving deeper into the island, establishing new evacuation points, temporary shelters, as well as clearing land towards the east of the island away from the mainland for a farming community.

The bell finally rang, heralding delivery.

Sasuke sprang up and collected the food, handing him a few bills and declining change. The next few moments were taken up by organising plates and cutlery until they could sit, helping themselves to the food.

They soon finish eating in comfortable quiet, broken only by the subtle clink of chopsticks against the plates.

"Here, let me." Sasuke reaches for the plate in Naruto's hands. He hugs it to himself.

"No, let me, it's your birthday." He demanded.

"You're in my house, fool." The insult had no bite, and they were both mellowed by the wine and the hot food settling in their stomachs.

"I'm helping, either way." He insisted. They cleared up, taking them over to the sink.

"Fine. Break the plates and I'll make you pay for them." Sasuke warned. Naruto looked at a plate.

"These ugly plates? I'd be more than happy to. Even I have better taste." Sasuke held up a plate at that, examining it from every angle. He crinkled his nose in consternation at what he found. Dull and beige.

"You're right. They are ugly." They both laughed at that, quietly.

"So, washing or drying?"

"You'll dry." He commanded, clearly refusing to budge. Naruto grabbed a dishcloth. Sasuke began to wash up, and soon they had cleared everything up, stopping to finish the bottle of wine, then putting away the dishes.

They returned to the table, Sasuke setting up an easy card game to while away the hours.

It was late, and Naruto was feeling sleepy. He'd been full of energy that morning, but the entire day and the wine had taken a toll on him, and he felt ready to nod off.

"Time I think about going home." He said. Sasuke looked up from the card game they had been playing.

"Really?" he twisted around to look at a clock. "It's only…midnight."

"Sorry. I had a lot of fun, but if I don't get a move on you won't be able to shift me." He smiled, getting up. Sasuke followed him to the door. His head at an angle, his hair hid him from view. "Your first day of being 19, last year of being a teenager."

"Cheerful thought."

"I thought so. Happy Birthday." Naruto opened the door, hanging on to the knob, half in, half out. He felt paused, as if something hadn't been quite said. The entire evening had been close to feeling awkward.

"Thanks." Sasuke looked at him, then, eyes piercing him, sending his heart rate rocketing. A firm hand grasped his wrist, pulling him towards him, sending him off balance even as his tails sought for the edge. He could feel the heat falling in waves off Sasuke, even as he seemed to suck it all in from Naruto, slick lips kissing his, he too stunned for a moment. It sunk in, even the answering reply from the rest of his body and he jerked back, skittering through the doorway out of the flat. Sasuke stood inside the door, a tugging smirk in place. "Again."

He wanted to say something, anything to refute what had just happened. He almost wanted to think it had ruined the evening, they had been getting along so well, but he was fooling himself, if anything he would be thinking about this for quite a few nights.

"Good night." He said instead, setting off, feeling Sasuke's watchful eyes on him down the hallway.

* * *

**AN:** Well hello to you all. Been a while, but real life interrupted. This chapter gave me a headache, in particular the scene with Sakura and the dialogue between Sasuke and Naruto. I always think of my dialogue as being too contrived... That said, I feel it has improved from other fanfics, but still - something to work on. 

On a side note; I'm keeping the fic at R. I'm used to writing NC-17 material, but two things; lately my NC-17 material has been very very weak in my eyes, and secondly, this site obviously doesn't allow it. Also, the new ratings are fairly wide, I preferred the old ratings because they were specific. I think I've kept well within the R/M rating here (if this was a painting I'm sure it would be blurred beyond recognition, giving only vague ideas).

**Bhaneside**: Thank you, I think you summed up the very thing that had been bothering me. Moving from the earlier chapters which were dependent on a lot of descriptive action to dialogue is something I found (even, find) difficult to realise with the current chapters. The later chapters are easier to write because I've established the boundaries of the plot and I know exactly where I'm going with the story - there's no holding back. As such the ... loaded-condensed (for lack of a better phrase) style from earlier doesn't work so well here. Naja, I'll write it off as deliberate choice on my part, nature/dream vs urban/direct. Fun Fun! Thanks ever so much for your comment, it's always great to hear something specific!

**Broken-Reflection**: Haha! Don't fear, this one is safe from that. I don't have the patience to write mpregs.

**Letta**: Same here! Heh, I did like the concept of the dinner, I had to go and check my etiquette book for details on seating - ended up changing those anyway...

**Lady-Frisselle**: So did I, but how else can I justify keeping Gaara around? I suppose he could have threatened whoever, but damn, if Konoha has to evacuate, what makes Sand think it can stay all happy-happy in a desert? I say not. Just coincidence it works perfectly for me... all coincidence...

**Tsugath**: Look! A brief SasuNaru moment! Ok, that was a bit pathetic. ...

Another 2/3 chapters to go. I won't make any promises this time, its Exam Time during May & June.


	14. Chapter 12 we are more than demons

** The Little Things**

**By Starapple/Martinique**

**Warnings**: Spoilers up to chapter 238, as if you don't already know if you're on this particular chapter.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Oh, I wish. Like us all.

* * *

**Chapter 12 – we are more than demons**

There was a difference between ordinary news and that which came from the Hokage. News that came from the two leaders was the kind that travelled on the heels of shinobi as they met in the shadows of buildings, passing along small tid-bits. They had gone from peace to martial law to full-out war. The enemy didn't know it yet, but every single shinobi upwards from Chuunin knew it. They were going to war, they were going to fight somewhere and they had less than a week to prepare.

He expected the town to have been in uproar, but strangely they welcomed it. Months of living had been peaceful, but there was still anger at the force that had made them leave, and irrationally they turned their minds against it, wanting vengeance, wanting to punish. The town was consistent in their anger, and he knew well that they could carry grudges.

Sakura finally understood. Some things had to be done. Naruto could see this as he stepped into the hall brimming over with shinobi who mingled in groups. She stood easily, weight balanced on one leg more than the other. Her battle-ready, metal-gloved hands twisting into and out of a shaped fist.

He considered going over there, but he knew he wasn't in the right mood to talk to her, or Ino for that matter. They hadn't noticed him either, so he kept going, looking for an unoccupied wall. Along the way he spotted Kiba, Temari and others, but they didn't notice him either, too caught up in their conversations.

He saw Sasuke one the left wall, clearly having the same thought as him. There was a gap of free space around him, shinobi pointedly but subtly ignoring him. He joined him, gaining a near-imperceptible nod from Sasuke.

The room thickened with bodies, heat stifling them. The doors shut heralding the beginning of the meeting. Heads turned towards the stage, waiting, conversations halting abruptly.

Tsunade and Gaara stepped out onto the stage, dressed in full formal gear, cloaks brushing the floor as they came forward, expert embroidery lined with gold and silver flashing in the light. The hall wavered in standstill.

"This was a war of attrition." She began, loudly, authority and the voice of a leader breaching every ear. "This was a war, seeking to ground us down, and yet it has found us, not cowering in escape tunnels to join the fallen, instead we are thriving and this, this here is our counter-attack." She looked out over them, hard stare returned by unflinching faces.

She began again, quieter, her voice rising to a thundering crescendo.

"They may have thought themselves victors. As they did, we will bring this war – fought with honour – to their doorsteps. We will not resort to trickery. We have all we need, standing here today. The war is not over. This will be the final battle. You will take part in this, the momentous battle. We will turn the tide against those, who sought to push us out of our homes, knowing not that we carry it wherever we go! We have laid our roots, and now we will sever theirs." She stopped abruptly in her speech, but it lent itself to what she said. Impossible, but she seemed to grow taller in Naruto's eyes. He could admire her, and knew that this is what true leadership sounded like. The pause drew itself out, and a wave rippled through the mass. Bodies pulled themselves into lines, standing firm on balanced feet, spines elongated. A charged silence filled the air.

"Today, Shinobi of Konoha and Sand, we are at war with the Mist Country." She pronounced, and within them all it was the sound of a death sentence descending onto any mist shinobi. She searched their faces, measuring, judging. Looking hard at those that seemed to lack the proper enthusiasm. Naruto could feel the pressure inside of him, the push to action he could sense directly in front of them.

And it was there, a subdued frenzy yet to break loose. They wanted this war, needed it almost.

The declaration left him cold and hot, and to his right Sasuke watched the proceedings with a blank expression. It didn't seem to faze him. Naruto swept his gaze across the assembled shinobi, spotting most of his year from the academy days. Anbu lined the stage, just to make a point.

Tsunade gave them one last hard glare, and then with Gaara in tow, swept over the stage to the back, disappearing from view.

That left them with a stuttering mass, grazing the fringes darkly. Some began to leave, but they were hardly finished. Major instructions had yet to be passed down, and this would start in a while.

Naruto felt cheated, and something just to his left, right there in his blind spot mocked him. Safe, but he'd watch it. And catch it. He just needed to shift his eyes just enough, just—

"Lunch." Sasuke said, in a way that allowed for no argument and it irked, an itch embedded deep in that triangular area beneath his shoulder blade he could never reach. And distracted him.

There was no point in biting back at Sasuke, especially when he had such a smug look on his face that spoke of hallways at midnight and stolen kisses for thanks.

And why did he always insist on giving the other ammunition to fire at him with?

The war was on their doorsteps and he was considering whether lunch was a good idea or not. When had he become so accustomed to the situation? Somewhere the thought of lives that would inevitably be lost should horrify him.

War is beautiful in the abstract. He knew that. Had never fought in a war, missions weren't war. War was heat and cold, action and passivity, camaraderie and depressing loneliness all rolled into one. The gall to be looking forward to it, the whole lot and he no better, thinking pork would be so _nice_ right now.

How did Tsunade do it? And she'd been full of fire, so convincing. Darker than he had expected. He wasn't convinced though, and such simple theatrics wouldn't work on him.

He felt scrambled along the edges, as if someone had thrown a disruptor into his brain, leaving him reeling, unearthed, afloat in his mind. Where _was_ Gaara? He hadn't even said anything to warn him, what did that make him?

It was already setting in. Not knowing. Passivity. How long could they last without cracking under the immense and continuous barrage of gore and violence; red blood black congealed mush holding together splintered fibres.

He could almost see where this war would go, and he wished dearly Sasuke wouldn't keep looking at him like that because it was interrupting his thoughts – floating freely across fields sweetly scented tang of blood threatening below – _disassociative state_ something whispered to him – and he'd lost track of the smirking thing in his blind spot even though it hadn't moved.

He shook his head sharply, hair falling loose of the hastily tied pony tail and he decided to cut the damn stuff later, who cares if it would grow back when he shifted.

"No. Not hungry." A lie. Rice and pork would be so nice right now, just after noon. He couldn't deny though that he wanted the war just as badly, because everyone else did. It wasn't a good reason, but it was all he had. Everyone he cared about was fine – in the physical sense – and he had never cared about the flats of old Konoha. They were all he had and he still had them.

The war threatened that.

He was excited and subdued all at the same time. Sasuke still leaning against the wall and he wondered if an earthquake would _move_ him, could move him against his will if he so chose to remain.

It'd be something to do on a Saturday.

Tables were shifted to the front and the crowd that had swelled in noise sobered up, loosely facing desks. Sealed envelopes were carried forward in flat-pack boxes.

They began to call names, alphabetical order. He was well aware that they would be here for ages, he was hungry and Sasuke was poorly-concealing a knowing smirk. The urge to squeeze his neck, just a little, to feel that soft skin contract under rough hands was tempting, but he kept his hand at his side. He knew it could be a lightning movement but Sasuke knew that too so why was he toying with him?

He _knew_.

Naruto breathed out, letting the tension flow out of him. Fixed his hair back up. He spotted Shino and his family. More like smelt them, faintly. Heard them rustling even as they stood still, like a rush of leaves in an autumn breeze.

Sasuke knew what he was doing; testing his boundaries and it didn't sit well with Naruto because how _dare_ he play with him.

He wasn't civilized, no, he couldn't be bothered to be civilized enough to play with him, not when it came to his emotions because those were locked up, and if he let one out to play in the open with Sasuke it would swallow him whole.

It was war time, he didn't have to be civilized. It's not as if they had time for such stupidity, they were, as Temari had said, shinobi.

War was something of a sham, really. It served for no purposes other than to send a bold voice screaming in the forest about being pissed off at the other side, and where exactly did he fit into that?

Voices were crowding, talking, stuttering over sentences as they struggled to make themselves clear to other shinobi. Talking as if breath had already been rationed.

He settled down into place. This would take a while.

As people were called and even Shikamaru stepped with a sense of urgency towards the tables, Naruto wondered what exactly his role in this loathsome fiasco would be.

Shameful.

The war being such a sham, two sides throwing each other's civility in front of the other while arranging mass murders of innocent children – when were women innocent these days? Not those that he knew. Shameful. War. Sham. Loathsome and all these other thoughts swarmed in Naruto's mind, but he knew he would enjoy it.

It no longer scared him, that fact. Hadn't since he realised how free it made him. But he was anchored in two worlds and the human part was horrified at how easily he could sleep at night. No nightmares. Only happy dreams.

Power surges within him, the memories they brought with them were enough to scare any man, to sicken him. Make him retch. All he felt was a deep latent satisfaction at a scene well-played.

He heard the light scuffle against the wall as Sasuke made his way towards the front, weaving through bodies that stood resolutely. He wondered if they were doing it on purpose, denying that he was Uchiha, or if they were too caught up in mind-numbing frenzy to notice him. He got no pleasure from it, as he supposed he would've done on any normal day.

He hadn't heard them call Sasuke's name.

He looked out over the scene, taking in the people there, calculating numbers in his head because there were always casualties in war.

How many would be back, able to stand here?

Naruto had no doubt he would be here, holding open the doors for those that limped, heads bent in mourning.

Sasuke was back, face still blank – perhaps carefully so, Naruto couldn't tell – white envelope held idly in his palm. As if this was a normal mission envelope. He leant back against the wall.

Naruto ignored him. He focused on the tables, waiting to hear his name. He heard the rustle of paper, could see long fingers open up the paper. The brief tightening of hands at whatever it had found. Naruto nearly let himself smile. The first reaction.

He wanted to know what it said in Sasuke's envelope to irritate him into actually reacting. Back in the day not even D missions had bothered him enough to make his hands do the facial equivalent of scowling.

Finally he heard his name called, and weaving through the crowd - too caught up to notice him, or Sasuke it seemed – arrived at the tables. Handed a pristine envelope, name hastily scrawled in pigeon scratch.

Orders directly from the old hag.

He licked his lips thoughtfully. Turning over the envelope to inspect the closure. The disinterested chuunin who had handed him the blasted thing had finally noticed the tails and was too entranced not to stare.

People either knew what he was or considered it a strange bloodline ability. The marks on his cheeks helped, as did the long braid of hair. And they never ever questioned him directly. After all, the Aburame clan had weirder stuff going on, what were a few tails in comparison? Even if they were nine great fox-red tails with dark-tipped edges. It was a good thing no one bothered to wonder why too hard. Those that knew now knew better than to say anything to him.

The envelope burnt red in his hand, he was aware of it so intently that he wove through the crowd without even really noticing it.

He tore the envelope along one side, tipping out the instructions. The agitation had left him; he was calm as he read the scrawl. Telling him to join Gaara and wipe out any and all hostile demons once the capital had been taken. Telling him, more importantly, to lead a team of shinobi. Sasuke. And four other names he didn't recognize.

No wonder. If he were feeling particularly stupid right now, he would laugh. Openly. But wars were serious matters and undoubtedly if the usual fifth rule applied he would be writing home to someone's parents or children to relate a heroic death. Even if it had been a coward's death, a panicking shinobi running, unable to handle the pressure of war.

The barrage of opened skulls and bloated stomachs was different to mission assassinations. Or self-defence. It was never carnage. It was survival. The hum of voices died down as the alphabet wound down. Groups detached, war still abstract, ready to say goodbye to their families with the promise of coming back.

The 'how' stayed unsaid.

Naruto gathered himself together, fitted the scrap of paper back into the envelope and turned to study Sasuke. Dark eyes rose to meet his, and Naruto knew words would have to be said at one point. They pierced him, demanding answers as if he had committed a crime.

Eyes narrowed at what Naruto said, a smile gracing white teeth.

"This should be fun."

* * *

August was dry, and its night cool. Naruto could feel midnight passing them as they ran on, aware of the five shinobi that ran alongside him. Aware of the entire army racing only to crash to a halt at the edge of the forest, where guards patrolled. 

The war had been on everyone's lips, goodbyes had been said. Gaara hadn't come to him, too busy with the preparations to spare any time.

Naruto felt free. It all didn't matter. He was in his element; the earth pulsed beneath his feet, guiding him forwards. Welcoming him home and he was sure he could smell the heady fertile mulch as they ran silently. The subtle tang of freshly-budded leaves hanging on the fringes of his mind.

He was prepared to fight to the death.

He cared nothing for the ideals, the reasons, the purposes.

It didn't worry him in the slightest, this looking forward to murder.

Life didn't understand fair-play. Neither did he.

The trip over the expanse of water had been boring, nothing untoward had occurred. As expected. Instead of Gaara's bridge, there were actual ships that ferried them over. Tsunade evidently had planned ahead, but Naruto didn't understand why there had been this need for secrecy.

He was beginning to suspect that Tsunade was lying to them all about something, and he didn't like it. Didn't like not knowing, because it offended him. It was hard for him to tell lately if it offended him or the Fox's memories. Once the memory surges had stopped being shocking, the emotions that came with them, overpowering and confusing as they had been, were difficult to separate from his.

Something warred inside him, hating to be used, and yet happy to enjoy it as it happened.

Naruto saw the darkness rise as they came upon the edge of the forest. Although he couldn't hear the rest of the army, their stopping was audible. The success of their entry into the capital rested on the next few moments. They would win, because they had the advantage of surprise, but needless deaths were best avoided.

It was a sprint of 600m to the perimeter. Before it were seven guards aligned in a semicircle around the town. From their current position, Naruto could see only two guard posts, jutting out above the fence. The fence could be jumped easily by the worst of shinobi, but they wanted to avoid anyone raising the alarm. The sea roared to his left, even though it was nearly a mile away. They were to wait in position until they saw their guard go down, and this wouldn't happen until packets of shinobi had encircled the entire city.

Naruto smelt the air. Sasuke was to his right, a dark head barely visible in the thicket of vegetation. Naruto raised a hand to his ear, tugging once. The rest of his team melted into the trees while he crouched, eager. Adrenaline pumped through his body. He had to give Tsunade credit, they would never expect this. The perfect Ambush, even Shikamaru had approved of the plan.

He pretended he had nothing to do with it, but everyone knew better. They had to make sure they didn't fail in its execution. Gaara was on the other side of the city; they would meet in the middle, and then fan out to find any demons.

The clack of hardened bamboo snapped him to his senses, just in time for eyes to narrow, pupils adjusting to see the poison dart snap out of the forest and towards the guard who was oblivious to his death.

He raised his arm until it was level with his waist, cautioning his team to wait. The second clack reached him dimly, and Naruto raised his arm up into the air, allowing them to descend into man-made hell.

Thirty-two teams of six shinobi breached the perimeter, splitting to take different roads. The entire army couldn't afford to lose the momentum they had gained. Windows were smashed and inhabitants killed with aimed senbon needles, throats slit. They decimated the population, taking only those who were shinobi.

Superior intelligence gave them this advantage, and those that had been missed would be easier to deal with in the morning. The advantage was theirs, even on foreign soil. The night crept by as he and his team worked their way into the middle of the city, screams that broke the air occasionally quickly silenced. They met no resistance, and it was almost making Naruto nervous because it seemed impossible and not right that they get away with it. He didn't know if there had been any casualties so far, but he seriously doubted it with the way things were going on his side.

Even as he felt alive, the dirt and mud dragged at him, and he thought of hot water to soothe, of clean clothes ironed and neatly pressed as Hinata had done for him once. He'd broken his arm, if he remembered correctly. He knew she had done it for more than pure charity, he didn't wear his clothes ironed, and when he did – well, he only broke one arm.

His hair, hastily slashed at with scissors the morning they left hung about his face, humidity causing it to fly around his face as they silently trod down cobblestone pavements speaking of an older time.

This city had been a town once, before that a fishing village. Before that – nothing, just an assortment of people living on the sea side before shinobi had come and made their homes there. Had decided to protect. Had decided to make demons to fight for them, to conquer land and Tsunade knew, that much Naruto understood.

They weren't the first to reach the city centre; they had had the most shinobi to remove, so they were one of the last teams to reach the centre. Blood spatter graced their outfits; they hadn't shied away from it.

Admitting to murder was beyond most assembled here, after all they were shinobi and loyalty was unquestionable. But Naruto knew better, he knew it was murder but he didn't care. And Gaara knew, this much Naruto was aware of too. And Sasuke understood what they were doing here too, that it was all murder, carnage and most importantly revenge. They all understood and didn't care, because they were shinobi. Because they were more than just the average shinobi.

Others may come to that realization once the blood dried and they had to wash the stains off the clothing, but until then Naruto knew that he only owed allegiance to whoever he gave it.

He hadn't given it unconditionally to Konoha. They weren't family, they were just where his family was. And sometimes that was the same thing but it wouldn't do well to forget the subtle difference.

Prisoners were dragged to the front, to be interrogated about the whereabouts of demons and other shinobi. They would crack, they were weak from depending on demons.

They didn't understand how volatile they could be, and it was enough to nearly make Naruto laugh and break the mission silence that should continue until dawn came.

Dawn was another hour away. The cleansing had taken five hours. As Naruto manoeuvred himself closer to the front, aware as he had been throughout of Sasuke watching him, the Mistkage was brought out, robe hastily swung around his thin form. In case he broke loose, so everyone knew immediately only to disable him, not attack to kill. The other prisoners were expendable.

Not that the Mistkage would have a chance to break loose.

Gaara was at the front of the group, eyeing the man with disdain. Amazed that it had been this easy. Naruto saw Sakura's pink hair at the fringes of the circular square, throwing orders around on the takeover of the hospital. He knew Lee would be watching her, so he moved on, spotting various people from the old year, guarding the centre from any shinobi they had missed.

A seagull, awake before dawn, pierced the morning with its great cry. The air was heavy with the smell of the sea, and sand. He could smell it everywhere, the sand, and its sunburnt flavour. Below that, Gaara's sand, and its iron tinge.

Hinata caught his eye, opal eyes keeping watch. He could see Neji on the other side of the circle doing the same. They seemed on edge, backs straight, form held straight. Naruto dug his hands into his pockets, returning to see Gaara motion to the shinobi, allowing them to take the mistkage away.

The city was theirs.

Gaara caught his eye, and Naruto wasn't sure if that was a smirk on his face or the filter of the light through the mist. He saw the nod that told him it was time to do their own work.

"Sasuke." Sasuke came closer, a bare presence just to his right, unsure now, more so than before. Too stoic to admit it though.

"Hn." He grunted, and if Naruto didn't know better he would have pulled him up for being insolent.

He was being insolent and he would get away with it because he _knew_ and it irked him.

"The team is yours." It was delightful, Naruto thought, to be giving power over to him.

"Fine." A deliberate, lingering pause before the voice curled to settle over his stomach, sardonic. "Good hunting."

The remark made him frown briefly, but he knew Sasuke hadn't seen, the mist was heavy and he was behind him. He turned around to face him, taking a step back towards Gaara. Smiled. Ran his tongue over a fang briefly.

"We will." He didn't care what the rest of his team possibly thought of him, though the entire exchange probably just confused them. Satisfied, he left a scowling Sasuke to give orders to the team.

All it had said on his slip of paper, Naruto knew, was 'Report to Uzumaki Naruto'.

The old hag was up to something, he knew. Had been up to something over the past year and a half. He marched alongside Gaara, who didn't say a word as they descended into the basement. The thoughts ran inside his heads, conflicting with reality, distracting him. He felt as if he was seeing double, yet walking in a straight line.

The stench was overpowering. Fumes of bodily fluids hit them, and Naruto knew they were chained to the wall because there was no other way of dealing with them at this stage. Dark eyes pierced the humid air, eyes that weren't Gaara's, or his. The blood was rising in his veins, pumping faster, spiralling back to the heart of things. So much _younger_, and yet he could feel the strength in them, it poured off in steady waves of pure energy. The passageway, slick with blood, seemed to fall into nothingness, down towards the bowels of the earth. Felt safe. And threatening. The atmosphere was completely wrong and yet he could feel himself humming, and Gaara was shining as if the light was focused on him, and he knew it was just a trick of his mind. The threatening sand didn't help; it ran up the length of the wall, seeking the nooks and weak points in the grilled gate. He watched it come apart under Gaara's thoughts.

"I'll go in." Naruto said, a dark smile on his lips that felt out of place, perhaps in the way the lips tugged over canines that suddenly felt sharper, longer. Gaara stayed in the shadows, but Naruto could feel him watching him, knew that in his mind Gaara was alight with fire.

The dark kid in front was starved, hanging in the chains limply, but Naruto wasn't stupid. He knew how survival could fire the strength of someone upwards, and he had no intention of giving the kid the chance to even attack. A Rasengan blossomed in his open hand, and he marvelled at the swirling energy filled with only one purpose, to kill. He didn't care to know what it was supposed to be, it didn't really matter because he was nothing but an annoyance, a tool that they would destroy in the name of War and Konoha and a thousand other platitudes.

Life, Naruto found, thrusting an open palm forward to bury the whirlwind into the demon child's heart, was simple.

Simple to destroy.

As a brief, plaintive cry gurgled off, drowned in a sudden resurgence of blood, Naruto found that life was hard. So very, _fucking_, hard.

Hard to live.

He turned away, and it was as if he had killed his first man again, close and personal, with someone unable to fight back and it didn't matter, all this talk of Shinobi honour when you could assassinate. Despite the cauterizing effect of the Rasengan, the skin sagged open to let blood gush forth from the arteries now that the heart was completely destroyed.

The fresh smell of new blood nearly made him puke, this was an unnatural situation to be in but he stepped back out of the cell, letting the iron gate scream on the hinges as they shut, sand pouring out of the lock.

It wasn't their fault that they had been duped and deceived into taking on a demon, and they wouldn't ever survive the onslaught, not when they hadn't had time to adjust, when the demon's mind was already formed and not bound like theirs had been. It didn't matter though; they would die at their hands. They wouldn't fail in their assignments.

Failing in assignments meant weakness, meant Orochimaru killing a weak Hokage, meant the destroying of trust carefully forged through teamwork. He wouldn't fail an assignment.

"Naruto." Gaara asked. And didn't. Flat eyes shifted to see Gaara looking at him. He felt smooth, ready to prowl, to stalk. Easy. Lazy. Distracted because there was no challenge and yet the blood in him hummed, vibrated, tapping out a rhythm on his heart.

"Next one."

"No. This isn't-" He stopped, as if unsure what to say that wouldn't be off, Naruto knew this. He could almost taste what Gaara really wanted to say, that this wasn't _fun_ any longer. Not exciting. That they could finish this right now.

"You do it then." He almost snaps, relaxing out of a stance he hadn't realized he'd been in, somewhere between attacking and giving way. He gave way.

A few rough hand movements, sand flashed down the basement, filling air with sand until the barrier hit their feet. The living tomb and Naruto turned to head upwards into the morning, into the dawn now that the dirty deed was over.

It wasn't their fault, and it wasn't his. Life was hard to live successfully; life was laughably simple to destroy. Demon or not, and it happened everywhere, all the time. They were agents of inevitability.

This wasn't like a year out hunting amongst leaves for tracks, this was war and he wanted no part of it. And yet he did. The conflicted feelings, and the sudden guilt masked by a deep satisfaction at the way things were going were bound to drown him.

He heard Gaara trudge up behind him, the slither of sand that followed inexorably. They exited the basement, and it was odd to think that it looked like any ordinary basement. It hid secrets, not fuel, it hid monsters, not food, and it hid weapons, not tools.

Fist tightening at his side, squashing the urge to smash something apart, and he could feel it rising but he repressed it, pushed it down, taking steadying breaths.

"We'll sweep the countryside at night." Gaara instructed, but how could Naruto forget? This was why he was here.

"Of course." He lets the false eagerness linger on his tongue, swallowing around it. A hand touches him, tentative, sand-soft against his elbow, tightening.

"We're at war." He says, and Naruto wonders how simplistic Gaara can be about the entire thing, seeing black-white when the world was blazing a fire-red at all the corners.

As if that explained everything, but Naruto nods and turns, giving a reassuring smile.

They were where he had left them in the middle of the Square. It hadn't taken as long as expected to deal with the chained demons, but those particular specimens had been on the verge of death anyway. Had it been mercy? Like shooting a doomed animal? Or was it murder, because it came in a human shape and had a name before it was re-labelled in the eyes of everyone? He didn't know. He just felt contempt for such pathetic creatures, and yet the confusion reigned as to why he felt like that. It was alien, and yet familiar, it was comforting and as old as skin.

The sun shone down, evaporating mists that slowly settled into the ground. Naruto closed in on his team, settled on a fountain. Although he tread lightly, Sasuke's eyes swirled around to him, narrowing into frowning lines. Betraying an emotion, one that tasted green in the air.

He came to a stop next to him, standing loosely at his side, not bothering to greet. The stillness was breath-taking, awing because it could herald success or more fighting as they struggled to keep the city under control. Hopefully any thought of rebellion would crumble once they realised they had no army to speak of.

"_This was a war of attrition."_

The war was over _now_. Not then, when the Hokage had spoken such loud, fiery words. No, the war was over now; Naruto knew it, the war of attrition ended last night because there was no hope for a counter-attack.

"_We will not resort to trickery."_

The perfect Ambush, this would go down in Konoha's Annals as the most successful battle. He should be proud to take a part of it. Where had the battle taken place? He was there and yet he had no recollection of it. Memories of deaths in bed were there instead.

Naruto turned the ideas inside, outside, thinking, trying to figure out what it was that was so very wrong about this situation.

Shameful.

"Fuck it." He knew he had said it, but somehow he hadn't expected to actually hear the sound. _Fuck it_.

"What?" Sasuke asked. Four pairs of eyes peered up at them.

"This." He threw his hand out. He turned away from the team, nimbly stepping a few meters away. Sasuke trailed behind him. "This isn't right."

Sasuke actually looked confused for a moment, as if he didn't understand when Naruto knew he did because he was well-bred. Surely it meant something.

"We're at war." Sasuke said, mindlessly, and Naruto almost laughed at the irony of it.

* * *

It was half past six in the morning when the first civilians began to wake up, when others left the night shift. 

It was nine in the morning when the last body hit the floor and the people gave up.

Friday, the 5th of August. The historic date.

Martial law was declared, the police disbanded, checkpoints erected throughout the city. News was sent racing back to Konoha, Gaara and Naruto swept the country-side, dispatching all the strays.

Somewhere, in the middle of killing, Naruto realised that Tsunade had known a long time ago what would happen. It was inevitable, and she had sent them as a warning to the Mist Village, warning them away from the path they had taken. Two young shinobi. One unstable. The other uncontrollable. It had nearly worked, but the smirk of the Mistkage had been pure arrogance.

It was impossible for him to be arrogant any longer, not with his robe slung hastily around his form. His cheeks carrying the stubble of a doomed man willing to give anything away in order to survive. Pathetic, when his shinobi had died in bed for him. For this useless, bland figure whose voice cracked under the increasing demands. The lack of sleep. The pressure positions. The relentless cold, or heat applied, the genjutsu used until the mind fractured and unfolded, and he babbled away village secrets for the taste of water.

This was the reason they were at war, and the man didn't have the decency to die with honour intact.

Once they knew everything, including the number of demons created and where they had been left, they took him away. Naruto wasn't sure if he was taken to Konoha, or if he was left to die, or if sand snaked upwards to tighten its grasp on a blubbering throat.

He knows he doesn't care any longer, not when there are only two more demons left, far down along the coast.

When they came back nearly a week later, Naruto's hair streamed behind him, dressed in a set of Gaara's clothes. Gaara matched his pace, gourd visibly cracked in places. Dark scowls made others give way.

* * *

Gaara shifted behind the desk, wondering when everything had shifted that millimetre to the right. It had been harder than expected. They'd underestimated the strength of them when they worked together, and those had been smart enough. It was easy to see why so many villages had been driven away, destroyed by the menace of demons. Those in the basement had been kept on a short leash, sent out to spread panic and terror. Rumours spread and they had been sent as a warning to the Mistkage. He hadn't heeded it. 

It had been harder than expected, children yapping at the legs of their elders, running away and appearing to harass them at night. Never mind the days it had taken to track them, they then proceeded to elude them for a full three days before they lost patience and killed them. Not without a very bloody fight though, the smart eyes of demons glowing in scared human faces. It was survival, and after the first girl they knew better than to mess around. It didn't prevent him from not being thrown against his own wall of sand. It had given way for his body, softening the fall, but the gourd had cracked under the strain.

Dimly, as he returned to the battlefield a mere kilometre away, he could hear the crackle of fire. The screams of two burning monsters. The anguished screams of denial. He sped up, racing back only to find the fight over and Naruto naked, stinking of smoke but alive, a hard brittle grin on his face as he stood over two smoking carcasses.

"Clothes, please."

* * *

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The words rolled off Sasuke's lips, a smooth graceful sound. 

The finesse of that particular statement amazes Naruto.

"I don't know. What's going on with you, Sasuke?" They had another week here of shifts and wariness before the diplomatic team came to take over and install a new kage.

"Nothing but shift work." He seated himself in the chair opposite Naruto, who'd shorn his hair once more. Sasuke had noticed a long time ago that Naruto was different, but here again there had been a near-imperceptible shift, leaving Naruto darker, sharper, deadlier. There was a still hum about him that spoke of danger distilled, the eyes narrowed in anticipation of something untoward. "What's going on?"

Eyes flickered to his face; Sasuke knew they were weighing up the pros and cons of a particular response. A small grin settled onto Naruto's face as he came to some conclusion, and Sasuke knew he'd calculated the odds out of curiosity, rather than any caring part on his behalf.

"I'm with Gaara." He says it, direct.

Sasuke's glad his hand was under the table between them, so he could quite happily clench his fist. What an absurd response, but he indulged in it anyway.

Naruto speaks again, looking off to the side. "How's the wife hunt going?" Just silence. Naruto gets up, hands buried in his pockets, chopped hair hiding his eyes for this brief moment. "You shouldn't let the past influence you so much." He says as he walks out of the door.

The response came automatically from Sasuke, with no need for thought. It held everything in it, all his life experiences, all the blood, sweat and tears. Naruto. Itachi. Orochimaru. Life, death, now. His family.

"We are the past."

Naruto hears those words, allows them to whisper in his ear while he strides away, in search of Gaara.

* * *

**AN**: This chapter made me neglect my books, so I'm going to throw it out here so that it stops bugging me. Also to get the idea of finishing a Jiraiya/Tsunade out of my mind. 

**Letta**: I know, I'm really bad at keeping those tenses straight. My long-suffering co-author still beats me for that. I try, but it seems to come naturally. I'm very weak on grammar, I ought to brush up on that.

**Fay**: Oh I'm really glad you liked it enough to read it in one go, heh. As for the pairing… well, wait and see!

**Mira**: Cheers! If you want to see my other fics, there are links on my profile. No promises as to their quality though!


	15. Chapter 13 great things happen

**The Little Things**

**By **Starapple/Martinique

**Rating**: R

**Pairings**: Main: SasuNaru, NaruSasu, GaaNaru, NaruGaa, LeeSaku. One-sided HinaNaru.

**Warning**: **LEMON scene. Read better, full version at adultfanfiction, link in profile**. Also some het-talk.

**Disclaimer**: Characters are not mine.

**Chapter 13 – great things happen**

He heard the door open, had heard the tread of feet in the hallway. He couldn't sleep, not when he had been waiting for him to come. Naruto heard Gaara let himself into his flat, close the door behind him and advance on the bedroom. He waited for Gaara to emerge in his room.

"Naruto." He stood in the doorway for endless seconds. Naruto could make him out by the slight change in darkness; it appeared to curve inwards on Gaara.

"Come in already." Is all he replied with though. For some reason he doesn't know how to deal with Gaara, again. Even though he made what they had more real by telling Sasuke – as if he didn't know, hadn't guessed – but really all that mattered is what they had.

He was beginning to draw a blank on what they had. They shared the same problem, but in all respects even those manifested themselves so differently that in the end they weren't sharing anything at all but a condition.

How could that be a foundation for a relationship? One where there were clear boundaries between what he could and couldn't know, something that burned all the more because he knew something was off.

_They'd been let in too easily_.

And Gaara wasn't telling him what it was, and he wasn't sure if he even _knew_. Or _guessed_. And if he did know – why hadn't he said? If the roles were reversed, he would have said something. He was sure of it.

"A lot of paperwork." Gaara said, the closest he came to an apology. His tone didn't change, and for all purposes he may well have been a statue, slowly ground down by the passing of time. He watched him advance slowly, rolling towards him on the bed. His features were sand-drawn, hard but soft. The rings around his eyes had begun to darken again, and Naruto knew he'd be awake most of the night, listening for the hush of sand across the wooden floor.

"I know." Gaara's form settled on the bed, muscles visibly easing as he relaxed. Gaara looked down on him, and Naruto wasn't sure he liked what he could see in the midnight darkness, a vague sense of softening around the eyes.

It unsettled him.

Gaara turned his back on him, undressing slowly.

It had been like this ever since they had returned two weeks ago. Walking around each other, moving side by side but not quite touching.

It didn't stop Gaara from slipping into bed with him, didn't stop Gaara from touching him, hungrily. And he let him, because he wanted to, because this is the way it worked between them. Touching, kissing hungrily, legs tangling, skin stretching taut under rough caresses.

It was so very different from the first time.

Naruto thought that somehow, perhaps, trust would develop – but the word home didn't sound the same on Gaara's lips anymore, sounded more like war and the grate of iron gates.

In the end, he lay awake, listening, _listening_ for the slightest sound.

* * *

He should have been livid, furious, a momentum of emotion rolling downwards to crush. Instead, just calm, a peaceful acceptance of what Gaara told him. That he was leaving for earth country, with his siblings to dissolve secure investments in the name of Sand Country. If they could make contact.

He was surprised he had not been asked to accompany them, just in case there was another threat of demons. He knew he was merely fooling himself, they had finally eliminated the demon threat, and the war was over, the occupation begun. He wasn't sure if there was anything left for him to do, in the past two weeks he hadn't taken on a job. He was still trying to figure everything out.

And now Gaara would be leaving him for two weeks. He didn't know what to feel, it was far more punctuated by the fact that it didn't bother him. They were drifting apart, or at least he was moving away from him, and the entire thing stank of Sasuke and his interference.

He didn't know how it happened.

They said goodbye that morning, Gaara at the door looking back, an indescribable look in his face, Naruto near the kitchen, barely mustering a half-hearted reply.

He left.

* * *

Sasuke perches on the couch at his new estate, unsure whether to go ahead and call Naruto or not. He doesn't know why he should feel so unsure about it, after all, Naruto had insisted that they spar at one point – and now that they were back he felt they were settled enough to do so. He didn't like to admit to himself that he was simply using it as an excuse to see him again, even though they had parted on bad terms. It was partially his fault for pushing and pulling at Naruto's patience.

A sad attempt at being acknowledged, more importantly as an equal.

He was still the reason, he knew this because the house was empty of feeling. It couldn't hold him, because there were no memories. Sasuke looked at the phone, the smooth black plastic, which could change so much in so little time.

He knew Gaara wasn't there, and he almost felt as if he was being far too deliberate in going after Naruto. After all, Naruto knew what he wanted, that he wanted him, because he was the reason for his continued existence.

He'd be stupid not to take advantage. Mind made up, he picks up the phone and slowly begins to dial Naruto's number.

* * *

Its ten hundred hours on the first of October.

Two figures stand opposite each other, in stark relief against the slanted sun. They are poised in their stances, ones that they haven't really had an opportunity to admire for all of those years.

In each other they see the five years of experience, the subtle shifts that maximise offence and defence. Between them are the whispers of the ages, a silent humming underpins the slight tension of the muscles, tuning to the gentle rhythm of nature.

A signal, known only to them catapults them together, a swift dance full of intent holding short at death. The thud of arms and legs on softer parts, or blocked, ring out in the stillness of the field. The twist of bodies to avoid, spinning backwards, flipping forwards to attack once more.

In Sasuke the Sharingan spins wildly, erratic as it seeks to cope with the unbelievably fast movements of Naruto whose tactics twist and turn as he executes them, feinting, double-feinting.

Naruto's tails flicker behind him, and in his heart he is soaring, watching in delight as they spar, moving faster, everything faster until he no longer thinks, merely moves in the void they have created. Adrift in the pace of the moment.

It comes to an end.

Naruto delivers a resounding blow to Sasuke's stomach, even as Sasuke attempts to twist backwards, to block the blow with his arm, but he is too late, his eyes see but his body cannot react – he is thrown twenty metres, aching to catch his breath, checking limbs to feel nothing broken.

The fight is over, and Naruto goes over to Sasuke, holding out a hand, which he readily takes. His hand is warm. And it almost feels like yesterday, but they are older. And it almost feels like tomorrow, but nothing is certain.

"Well done." Sasuke says, slowing his heart beat, controlling his breathing. He isn't out of shape; he's found it easier to keep up than he thought he would.

"Thanks. You did really well." Naruto replies, it is the truth, but Sasuke knows Naruto hasn't even started to work, he's seen him against demons; he has seen him naked due to loss of control. Yet the compliment still stands. "Ah, damn, we should have agreed a forfeit." Naruto laughs, it pours out of his mouth throatily.

"Oh? What would that have been?" For some reason, Sasuke finds himself holding his breath, waiting. Naruto looks at him, a deliberate sound in his eyes, guarded but Sasuke sees it. Naruto shrugs, a roll of the shoulders.

"The usual."

"Which is?" Sasuke immediately presses. It's clearer now, there's a fire behind his eyes, one that burns him with its intensity. Sasuke can see Naruto's mind works as, like his body did before, it twists away from the question.

Naruto pretends to think.

"Telling me why you came back."

Sasuke looks at the ground, it's a disabling question he's unwilling to answer. Not yet.

* * *

He'd had time to think everything over, and he thought it had finally come clear to him today. Left unsure on the edge of the sparring a mere week six days ago, Naruto found himself closer to the answers that had plagued him since their arrival at Konoha.

He'd been used, at the very beginning. As soon as he had realised that to have been the case, that the necklace which was still strung around his neck may well have been nothing more than an emotional leash, he was saddened. Deeply saddened, that Tsunade had gone to such lengths to disguise her actions, to make her machinations in protecting the village appear to be the logical conclusion of the external world.

She'd found out about the demons. Between her and the then-Kazekage, they decided to send them in warning. It failed. They didn't know what to do. So they moved the entire village.

He should have been angry to have finally figured it out, but he couldn't blame Tsunade. She had done her best to protect the village. He was still alive. She played a dangerous game, and it had paid off. No losses of life, other than those eight markers framed by grass.

They'd been let in too easily because she knew better than to lose them. Knew better than to compromise the village's safety. She knew they were there the moment they came on to the shore. He was an idiot for failing to recognise it.

Which lead him, inevitably, back to whether Gaara knew. If Gaara knew and hadn't told him, then what they had was nothing more than a lie.

The click of a key in the door made him brighten his face into a welcoming smile.

* * *

His birthday was not something he had ever really celebrated until Sakura and Hinata decided to make a large fuss about it. It had pleased him at the time, but now, with all the complications surrounding his recent discovery, one he couldn't throw in Tsunade's face, and Gaara's supposed betrayal and Sasuke's unwillingness to answer questions but continued baiting, he was far too occupied to think. Never mind enjoy his birthday.

Still, like the past five years, there would be a table at a restaurant, undoubtedly the Gold Isle knowing Hinata and Sakura's taste, and they would all eat together.

Gaara had left this morning, leaving him with a lingering green-eyed gaze. He didn't do birthdays, but that certainly did not surprise him. Naruto was beginning to hate being surrounded by emotional cripples.

In his mind though, are images of Sasuke's birthday, and he only wishes himself to be that lucky.

* * *

Sasuke doesn't know what to do. He hasn't bought someone a birthday present for years, he feels out of practise.

He received the invitation to dinner at the Gold Isle two days ago, detailing that he'd be joining Hinata, Neji, Sakura & Lee as well as Gaara at seven in celebration of Naruto's birthday.

He browsed the stores, slowly, inspecting potential gifts for pitfalls. The streets petered out, and still he had not found anything. Memories of his own birthday, the stolen kiss flitted through his mind, distracting him from the task.

He wanted to ask someone for advice, but he didn't think he would be happy with their suggestions. Nor did he want to hear the truth, that they knew him better than he did. He only had himself to blame for that, even if they missed the most important aspects of his nature, even if no one understood him at the deepest as well as Naruto did.

Sasuke is as close to desperate as he would ever admit himself to be, but mainly because this has everything to do with what Naruto means to him, and the reason why he is here. He won't tell Naruto, but he's prepared to leave him clues.

He was beginning to panic. It was already noon, and he still didn't have anything. Three hours of browsing, and he didn't know what to buy.

He was running out of options, he thought there might be another small street of stores he could look at. A small antique shop waited in front of him. On any other occasion, he may well have passed it by, but now he stepped up to it, hoping that there was something he could find to give Naruto the same feeling he had when he'd seen the kuchiyose.

It was dark and musty in the small room, filled to brimming with valuables worth nothing and something. A bell rang as the door swung closed. An old lady cautiously scuttled forward, and seeing him stepped behind the counter to greet him warmly.

"Good afternoon, can I help you sir?" she rattled off, and Sasuke wondered when and how he'd become a sir rather than a boy, or young man.

"I'm looking for something for a friend, it's his birthday today." Sasuke cast a gaze around the room, filtering out portraits, landscapes, small carved toys and glazed figurines.

"Well, perhaps you should take a look around, if you see anything you would like help with, just call for me." He nodded in reply.

He could see a little path led behind the tall stack at the front, picking his way he came upon glass cabinets filled with ivory and semi-precious stones. Then, further along, another glass cabinet, stacked with old games.

Sasuke stopped here, eyes falling on a cherry wood box, polished to a perfect sheen, the check pattern holding painted symbols. He recognised it as an ancient game, Court, mixing the idea of opposing forces with domination of territory.

"Madam?" he called towards the counter, turning his eyes back to the game. His parents used to play it in the evening; they'd always sent him to bed when his father approached with the game in hand.

"Yes?" The lady bobbed on her feet, jade necklace swinging wildly.

"Could I have a look at this game please?"

"Of course." She produced a key; pulling out the game once the glass door had been slid back, then handing it to him. He nodded at her once more in thanks, feeling the smooth wood under his hand, smelling the slight scent that emanated from the wood. A small filigree gold clasp opened to reveal the various tiny figurines that made up the game. He was impressed at the level of detail, the tiny brushstrokes that made up the decoration along the edges, as well as the ruby silk that covered the inside. "This is a fine specimen; you have a keen eye to have spotted it."

He didn't really hear her words, just said, "I'll take it."

"Ah, it doesn't come cheap." She warned.

"I know. I'll take it."

"I've sold this to many old men and women, usually they come in together to purchase something. They always fall in love with old versions of this game." Sasuke's eyes snapped up to the woman, though she had her back to him, heading to the counter where she wrapped the gift for him in tissue paper, then gave it to him in a gold patterned box.

The price flashed up on the till, but he didn't pay it much attention, paying, saying his thanks and leaving, glad to have found something to produce this evening.

* * *

Evening approached, and Naruto fixed the shirt on his neck into place once more. His tails behind him twitched agitatedly, a reminder that even if he did push his anxieties to the back of his mind, someone would notice if he did not control himself.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto headed towards the door, aware that Gaara hadn't returned from work. Unless he'd gone back to his own place, either way Naruto didn't let it bother him, moving down the hallway steadily, out of the block of apartments towards the Gold Isle.

The air was cool, noticeably even though it was warmer than the old Konoha would have been. Strange to consider how easily the body acclimatised to change in weather, to change in life.

It'd felt as if he'd been with Gaara for ages – and on some level he didn't doubt that they had once met in other shapes – it also felt as if Sasuke had always been back, as if it wasn't still something he was getting used to.

Being complacent, he knew, would open him to betrayal, to deceit by green-eyed smiles. Allowing himself to be pushed around, allowing himself to be kept in the dark would only lead to disaster, to chaos, to the death of someone.

Thoughts whirling in his head like the pollen on the playful wind, Naruto stepped with some urgency towards the Gold Isle, unsure of everything, knowing that he was haphazardly balancing on the edge of something momentous.

He was ready.

* * *

They were so young, but time had taught them not to take its passing lightly.

* * *

Hinata looked in the mirror once more, brushing down eyebrows, running a careful hand through sleek black hair, fixing her evening wear into place, moving jewellery back into place. Her heart was beating at a furious pace, but on the outside she was calm.

"Hinata?" Neji appeared behind her, cleanly dressed, hair tied loosely behind him as usual.

"I'm ready." She replied. He came towards her, she turned to face him, and he took her bejewelled hands in his, pulling her towards him until their foreheads touched – though he still wore the bandages. Though not for much longer.

"You're beautiful." He didn't know what else to say. What could he say, without embarrassing her efforts? He could only reassure her. And he could only damn Naruto for being so unaware.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Neji could see opal, like he expected, but less like the colour of opal, more of the brittle hardness of opal stone. Precious.

He found her coat & the gift, and off they went, sliding silk doors shut.

* * *

Sakura and Lee stood at the bar of the restaurant, early because they had tired of their parents. Ever since they had become engaged, their parents had insisted on meeting all the time to become closer. While they appreciated the effort they were making to integrate, they really did want to spend some time alone. So they escaped.

Lee's hand felt warm in the small of her back. The protective gesture made her feel warm all over, slowed the pace of her breathing until she felt adrift in a void. Everything felt softer, as if she would fall but for his steadying strength. Her stomach flushed with heat, a gentle internal sway like the nourishing sea, a thickening of the blood, of sea-broth. Tears threatened for some reason; she supposed she never imagined happiness and love could feel this good, this painful.

"Sakura, Lee!" the spell was broken as they both turned to see Hinata and Neji. "You're early!" came Hinata's surprised smile. Neji returned Lee's nod.

"Just warming up to the party. A drink while we wait for everyone else?" Sakura replied, banishing the sensual thoughts drifting to the base of her spine.

* * *

Naruto was the last to arrive. He was glad; he didn't want to watch the awkward greeting of Gaara and Sasuke at the table. At least this way he could pretend it had never happened.

Everyone looked well-dressed; perhaps the most gratifying aspect of this entire evening is that they had all made an effort to celebrate the passing of another year with him.

And yet he found it difficult to summon a genuine-looking smile, one that would fool even Gaara & Sasuke. As he was directed to the table, he took in the seating arrangement. This time the restaurant was emptier; it was a Monday after all, and for many people this was the end of a period of mourning for the older generation; the entire village was still quieter than usual.

Pretending all the time was growing old, and he knew Gaara disapproved – even if he insisted on not caring at _this_ very moment.

A space for him had been left between Hinata and Sasuke. Lee was sitting next to Sasuke, Sakura on Lee's right, and then came Gaara, then Neji who as usual was sat next to Hinata. Naruto relaxed, smoothed, felt better at seeing the volatiles parted, even if Gaara would be unforgiving because he wasn't blind. Just deeply prejudiced against any species he didn't care for.

Before he could get to the table, Sakura spotted him, rising midway to greet him, causing five pairs of eyes, all different, to swivel towards him. Stepping up to the table he gave Sakura a quick hug, then round to Hinata to repeat. He didn't miss their spectacular beauty, and something in him shifted slightly, a growing awareness once more of the thing in his blind spot, something he kept missing, something he felt he could catch; something he instinctively knew but subconsciously suppressed.

Chatter grew around the table as he was congratulated, voices flooding him with sounds all too quickly, and all of a sudden euphoria gripped him, stress and anxieties leaving him as he truly smiled, as he began to enjoy himself.

Hinata and Sakura skilfully kept the conversation going, light and unobtrusive as they ate; Gaara related some stories from his recent travels Naruto hadn't heard before and Neji and Sasuke argued about the pros and cons of the new foldable shuriken.

He revelled in it. This is how he had wanted it from the beginning, the laughter, the conversation, the good company that came willingly, which _forced_ him to celebrate like any other being.

As dessert ended, and the evening drew towards midnight, he received his first gift from Neji and Hinata, an old book they had in their study he had discovered. Every time he went there and had to wait on Hinata to finish getting ready, he would read the aged tome, half-encyclopaedia half-fiction of timeless myths.

He laughed as he saw it.

"We thought as he was always reading that particular one, we may as well give it to him." Hinata explained the significance of the book to the rest.

"But what am I supposed to read now while I wait for you two?" Naruto mock-complained. "Thanks, you two, so much." He kissed Hinata on the cheek.

"Well, here you go Naruto. Another year over."

"Thanks." Naruto accepted the small, neatly-wrapped package. Opening it revealed a wooden box, and Naruto couldn't hide the surprised smile that graced his face. "Seriously Sakura? I would've thought…" it was as he had thought, a box of light cigars.

"Yes, yes, I know. But if you're going to insist on smoking something occasionally, at least make it these rather than those disgusting ones Jiraiya always pawns off on you." Her nose crinkled in disgust as she recalled the awful smell and smoke those produced. She couldn't imagine where Jiraiya found them, or had thought it even remotely appropriate to introduce Naruto to them. But the Sannins were by no means normal, and Sakura was only just beginning to appreciate how sly Tsunade could be.

"You know I only do it at special events. I've never actually bought my own!" he laughed. "Thank you, both of you, thanks." He offered them around the table, all of the men taking one. "Ah, this is a very good day." Naruto laughed heartily, puffing away contentedly.

"Well, Happy Birthday Naruto." Sasuke finally said, bringing up the box. Naruto felt it, then, despite the smoke, the lingering happiness had suddenly gained a slight tension at the fringes. He accepted the box, surprised at the weight of it.

He was being watched for his reaction. Dragging on the cigar slightly, he opened the box, pulling out the glossy box in the middle. Just out of his right eye, he could see a slight pull on Sasuke's forehead, a bracing.

"Sasuke?" He asked, unsure of what it was. It looked like a game; he was sure he had seen Shikamaru play it once a long time ago.

"It's a game called Court. Very old." He replied, still taut.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, opening the small gold clasp at the front. He could appreciate the beautiful art, the careful stroke of deer-brush on the wood with shellac. "Are there instructions? Or you'll have to teach me how to play it Sasuke. It's beau—" opening the box he saw the detailed carvings of the tiny figures, the semi-precious stones that had been used, the burgundy silk which covered it.

A small pause enveloped the table as they waited on Naruto to finish his spoken thoughts. Naruto suddenly felt ill, it had nothing to do with the cigars, just the sudden feeling of an exudation of heat from the box.

"I don't know what to say, Sasuke. It's amazing." Then quieter, "It's too much." But he knew Sasuke could hear him. He ignored the glare from Gaara, even if it was subtly disguised. He ignored the slight hints of jealousy from Sakura and Hinata, who felt as if they had been outdone by a traitor they had yet to fully reconcile themselves with. He had yet to _thank_ Sasuke in a way that would remotely convey his feelings on the matter, but Sasuke _knew_ in any case, was secure in that knowledge. He could tell in the way he smirked, a light tilt of the mouth even Sakura would be able to recognize if she cared to look. "Thank You."

The lateness of the evening was beginning to sink in, he felt overwhelmed.

"Naruto." Gaara called for his attention. "Here." He held out a scroll, in the style of Gaara, unwrapped. The fact that he had even brought him a gift meant something, though Naruto wasn't sure what it truly meant.

"Thanks." The hesitance and bewildered tone in his voice conveyed his surprise. Opening the scroll, he was met with the sight of lushly painted scenes of battle, a story scroll relating the loss of two countries at the fury of a lone demon in its prime. His heartbeat stilled for endless seconds as his eyes skated forwards, skimming the page for the core of the matter. Horror and satisfaction at the story warred to unsettle him; Gaara's gift was a reminder above all of their dual nature. Not something he wanted to be reminded of, at this very moment. Thankfully it was not a description of either of their demons; it would have been a difficult situation to explain away. "Thanks Gaara." Addressing the rest, "Trust Gaara's present to reflect current events; he's a Kazekage to the very bone."

Gaara smiled, but Naruto had seen his smiles, it was different from unimpeded laughter on dawn-lit beaches, this was a smile that hid dark longings, an obsession.

"Oh, I think it is time we go, they are closing up!" Hinata exclaimed.

"We'll get the bill. Have a nice night Naruto, everyone else. Come Hinata." A chorus of thanks accompanied them to the bar where they paid. Sakura and Lee expressed their thanks and left too, leaving Naruto with Sasuke and Gaara.

He eyed them over the table. Gave a final puff on the cigar, and stubbed it out. Gathering his gifts, he rose, stepped back from the table and smiled a fine line of white teeth at them both.

"See you tomorrow, thanks for the gifts."

* * *

Gaara watched the sunset, thoughts in complete disarray as a set, but in their individual wholes clear as mountain water filtered through the stones of the ages. He watched the sun set, the gradual drawing down of blinds on the southern side of Konoha, the emergence of stars.

Just thinking.

It was too late for him. He was too far gone down one path, the reflex thoughts had been burnt into his neurons. He couldn't change now, even though the sleep was enough strength to keep control. He could only warn Naruto of the same, but the motive behind that was as twisted as the demon that sat behind the weakening fences. The skyline beckoned him, the horizon drifting ever forward, an endless, timeless appeal that resonated within him. He would not leave, he would not die, he would not lose what he wanted. What was his. What he had allowed to become his, once that occurred no one could take it away.

He had pushed it too far with the gift, hadn't dared to go back. That didn't mean that he was not aware of Naruto's movements, he'd been to see Sasuke. They had played their game every day as Naruto was sucked ever deeper into mastering it. He was beginning to resent Sasuke's interference, one that was dragging its ugly mark across his relationship with Naruto.

The night was cool, the humid stickiness settled into the bones of the people here very quickly. The desert dryness of his sand was beginning to be compromised.

* * *

This isn't the way Sasuke had thought it would go. Kakashi had suddenly appeared and had insisted on talking to him over lunch. In fact, Sasuke thought the very experience, if not pushed to the very back of his mind, may very well have haunted him.

Kakashi seemed unchanged. Still characteristically lazy, a dog-eared copy of Icha Icha Paradise tucked into the top pocket of his flak vest. Mask still covering the lower half of his face, the lop-sided, battered Konoha forehead protector firmly in place. His gait was still that of an unruffled, sedated old man, which ultimately belied the true speed at which Sasuke had seen him move.

It was a time warp, not even the shock of white hair had changed.

An odd decoration in his house, Sasuke began to fix lunch, not at ease with Kakashi here because he suddenly realised that he felt he owed the man an explanation.

Kakashi flicked through his book as he waited, not willing to speak until they had eaten because that seemed the best way to establish the right atmosphere required for such a delicate subject. He wasn't his sensei anymore, but he still owed him something, he was the only other link left to an illustrious history.

It created bonds he would otherwise never have thought to consider. He would honour them, and play the older, wiser uncle.

A draft of late-October air pushed the smell of fresh-cooked food through the house. It gave an illusionary image of homey-ness. They both knew better. They both had not experienced a feeling of home since their youngest years.

Kakashi felt he had failed the boy somehow, not that he was sure where, because he had thought he had done everything in his power to keep him there. Even if he understood why he had left.

"We can eat." Sasuke, subdued, nearing sullen reported. Kakashi pocketed the novel, helping him serve up the table. They ate in silence, quiet and efficient.

"Thank You." Kakashi pushed his bowl to the side. Sasuke only nodded in reply, face blank of all emotions. "So. The never-ending saga between you and Naruto." Kakashi paused, hoping that somewhere Sasuke would decide to make his life easier and talk back.

"Pardon?" Sasuke replied. Kakashi's lips curved under the fabric into a smirk. When all else failed, falling back onto his high-born nature was a comfort to Sasuke.

"You know what I mean. You'd be surprised at what I know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The beginning of an ill-tempered partner to this dialogue.

"It's only been five years. My memory is not that bad. That said, it has been five years. You two should just get to the end of whatever it is you're playing at. Don't delay. You should know that. If anything, I would have thought any time spent with Orochimaru would have taught you that."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sasuke was beginning to realize that the old man definitely saw more with that one eye than he did with his two. Was it experience?

"Yes, you do. Stop playing around." This short conversation was beginning to take its toll on Kakashi. He didn't particularly enjoy having to guide an obstinate youth no matter what the obligations and self-imposed duties.

"Fine. It isn't any of your business." Sasuke snapped.

"It is if you are going to try and kill each other again."

"That doesn't appear to work." He replied, flippantly.

"Good. See you around, Sasuke. Here's my number in case you want something." Kakashi placed a card on the table, shifting it to the side. Standing up he made a lazy salute, and left via the door.

Sasuke sat at the table, alternately cursing the dead relative who'd given Kakashi that false sense of obligation, and inventively, expressively cursing Kakashi's gift of sight.

He relaxed back into the chair, the game of Court falling into his line of sight. They were in the middle of a game and at the moment neither truly had the upper-hand. They were equal.

* * *

The second dawn propelled Gaara into action. Going along the streets of Konoha, he reached the edge, the perimeter of Sasuke's estate. He made his way towards the house, knocking at the door with measured strokes.

A few moments later it was opened by Sasuke, clearly woken from sleep. He was alert though, and at the sight of Gaara on his doorstep, his mind began to calculate various options.

He wasn't that fast yet.

Nothing was said. Sasuke decided to break the silence.

"And?" he challenged, a dangerous insolence, which set the slow burn of sands in the cradle of Gaara's eyes alight.

"Sasuke." Gaara acknowledged, sweeping a contemptuous eye over the figure in front of him. "Despite what you may think, Naruto is mine. You don't understand him. You don't know him as I do. You have lost. You will not succeed. You do not have the strength to take him from me, and I will crush you should you be as insolent to try. I believe you have failed." The timbre of the voice fluctuated, the tones of an obsessive maniac on the edge of complete and utter loss of control. He vibrated on the spot, as if ready to attack, and Sasuke knew that everything depended on his next words. He'd be able to see it, but he wouldn't be fast enough to avoid it.

"I know." The flare in Gaara's eyes subsided. Leaving him with a dark, green-eyed, piercing look, Gaara of the Sand moved towards Naruto's home.

Sasuke watched, unsure of the outcome of tonight.

* * *

Naruto woke at the opening of his front door. Quick footsteps marched towards him, and Naruto relaxed, knowing it to be Gaara. Though he was uncertain how much longer he could continue this, tonight would be like the other nights.

Gaara emerged in the doorway, as Naruto had come to notice, the darkness bent towards him, as if in homage to the dark creature he hid behind refined, sand-smoothed features. Naruto wondered sometimes if the darkness bent towards him too.

For a timeless second, Gaara remained standing, visibly agitated. "Naruto." He croaked, and it was the emotion, the need, the plaintive call of his name on those lips that made Naruto melt, reminded him of home and earth, instead of its iron clasp.

"Come." Naruto sat up, beckoning him towards him, opening his arms in welcome.

"It's too late for me." He mumbled, though Naruto heard him.

"Come." Naruto repeated, and Gaara came towards him, clothes making the hissing sound of silk upon silk as they ribbon-ed down to the carpet. Naked, Gaara climbed onto the bed, into Naruto's arms, and as they closed around him, arms that closed around his back, the smooth feel of skin upon skin, and as they did this, Gaara kissed Naruto's neck hungrily, with all his might, sucking slightly to leave a bruise which blossomed and withered in moments.

But his mark had been there. Was that enough? It was enough, so he told himself.

"I love you." He says. Naruto nods, in understanding. Mouths near each other, kiss tentatively, then openly, a greeting of lips that had lost touch.

Naruto's hand on his back sooths as they kiss, as they slowly lay down, heads meeting pillows as they caress each other. Slow, gentle caresses that lull them to sleep.

And on the bridge between wakefulness and sleep, Gaara says: "You're mine, right?"

And on the bridge between wakefulness and sleep, Naruto does not reply.

But they slept and Gaara closed eyes that felt the weakness of tears for the first time in over a decade.

* * *

Naruto woke fully, totally, eyes opening onto total blackness, a smooth blackness he has seen before. It is familiar to him, too familiar, and it only takes him a moment to recognise it, for the cloud of claustrophobia to descend on his mind. Struggling to keep it at bay, he pushes at Gaara next to him, shaking him frantically, shouting now to tell him to stop. The blood in his arteries begins to pump around his body harder, preparing for the inevitable shift, and Naruto breathes harder, edging on hyperventilation as he sucks in the smell of bloodied desert sand.

The bed caught on fire immediately. Naruto directed a blast of jutsu fire at the ceiling, hoping it to be thinner there, to use a hot enough heat to turn it into molten glass that would obey the laws of gravity and pour down. Allowing him to escape.

The haze of the burning carpet creates a noxious fume, one he is desperate to escape; the fire becomes hotter, though he doesn't feel it, just sees it in the way orange turns to red, turns to blue, turns to purple, and turns invisible.

Gaara wakes, the entire dome collapsing, sand spreading to protect the room from the fire. He bolts up, sheets of glass on his left side sliding off raw-pink skin to break on the floor. A terrified glance at Naruto, and he escapes from the room.

Naruto did not follow.

Instead, he pulled on some slacks, one of the few things in his cupboard that had survived the charring effects. Padding over the sand, he left the apartment, not aware of the siren call of the fire brigade.

He did not wander the streets. He headed, directly, to Sasuke, mind blank.

* * *

Naruto knocked at the door, pacing in the path, fists clenching, jaw grinding as he calmed himself down.

The door opened, revealing a pissed-off looking Sasuke. Naruto did not give him time to ask questions, wanting only one thing, wanting only to test the shape of their bodies against each other. He pushed him through the door, closing it behind him. Sasuke's eyes were alert, his nose smelling smoke, the hint of which recalled memories of sitting around a campfire.

Naruto approached him, circling momentarily, eyeing him in the way that reminded him of the creature within him. Slow dance of the panther, sleek like the cats he called using the kuchiyose.

Sasuke pulled Naruto to him, trapping him in an embrace that revealed the regret of five lost years. Revealed the depths of his love, not healthy, but more balanced than what Gaara had offered, and Naruto took it, kissing him hungrily, pulling off the t-shirt Sasuke had worn to bed. The attraction between them was unbelievably strong. Naruto pinned him to the wall, trapping him against it, thanking and punishing him for every stolen, for every forced kiss.

They said, _I want you_.

They said, _I need you, I can't live without you, I've missed you –oh fuck, oh gods I love you. Be mine. You're mine._ Their kisses spoke all of this, spoke all of this and more, and somehow they made it to the bed. Sasuke clutched at the full head of blond hair, twisting it harshly in his grasp, aroused, feeling the depth of Naruto's arousal against his stomach as he bent him back to suck hungrily at an exposed neck, the culmination of a thousand late night thoughts. Branding a thousand flowers indelibly into Naruto's skin, who scratched unmercifully at his chest, rubbing unforgivingly at the tender flesh of his nipples, mewling and growling at the force of Sasuke's passion.

Naruto's eyes flashed red as he gripped at Sasuke's hair, burying his hands achingly into his scalp, satisfied at hearing the low moan uttered at the caress of his head. Bending low, he licked slowly at his ear, breathing, glad to hear the hitched breathing, then hissed low and meaningful into Sasuke's ear, reinforcing the words of his lips with a tug of his hair: _"You're mine, you're mine."_ Sasuke stilled under him, harsh pants breaching the air. Sharingan eyes met the red flush of Naruto's eyes. He pulled at the light-gold strands wrapped around his hand, pulling Naruto closer so he could whisper in his ear, dark vibrations pooling in every single nook of Naruto's spine to spit fire at his nerves as he heard: _"You're mine, mine." _

He crushed their lips together once more as he slowly began to rotate his hips into Sasuke's lap. Feeling tight, unbelievably tight, and elated, the heavy musk of sex settled into the air, silk sheets cool to the touch of burning bodies. Naruto loosened his hold on Sasuke's hair, kissing slowly, the rub of tongues against each other, the slow sensual rub a reminder of things to come. Naruto's tails weaved wildly behind him, sensitive to the hum of bodies, puffed up. Sasuke took hold of Naruto's buttocks, massaging sun-bronzed skin, moving upwards to touch the base of his tail, the place where the bundle of nerves gathered to go upwards, massaging that spot as if he had always known it to be sensitive, and Naruto fell apart in his arms, weakened, barely able to breathe, unbearably hard, left whimpering. Sasuke kissed his lips, his blushing cheeks, the corner of his eye, the middle of his forehead, wherever he could reach as he enjoyed the humid tangle of limbs. The hint of fire left on Naruto's skin blurred his senses.

Sasuke pushed Naruto to the side, leaning over him, licking his lips with a gentle swipe of the tongue, nibbling down his jaw as red-blue eyes watched on. Sucking damply at a pulse which fluttered at contact, further down to a gleaming expanse of gold-brown chest, topped with nipples which stretched and hardened under his tongue, his nimble and deft hands.

Hands caressed his sides, moving to edge the boundary of skin with fabric, where slacks hung limply on hips. Sasuke's hands wandered down, brushing the flickering seal on Naruto's stomach, going further to grasp the slick length hidden in the folds of dark fabric, his own throbbing in sympathy as Naruto's hips rose to thrust in his weak hold. His nose nuzzled the soft skin between hip and the triangular area above his hot need, a moan emanating from Naruto as he did so, a sudden tightening of hands in his hair. He pulled down the slacks, enough to reveal swollen flesh. Climbing back up, allowing Naruto to dally his kisses under his jaw, he rummaged in the bedside table, feeling for lube, shutting it as he found it while Naruto's hands dropped to his boxer shorts, helping him rid himself of the clothing. Pressing down to feel delicious friction as they glided over each other, a raw appraisal of each other's need.

* * *

As they began to breathe again, nestled in each other's arms, the smell of sex permeating the room, the tang of fire left on Naruto's skin still remaining, Sasuke brought his hand up to Naruto's face, cupping a cheek, kissing lips tenderly, reverently. They nodded off to sleep.

It was only a brief sleep, a recharging of expended energy that had left them cat-lazy. Eyes opened from beyond the haze, Naruto stretching in Sasuke's clasp, loosening arms. Sasuke watched him, languid dark lashes and dishevelled hair leaving him with a debauched look, one that caused Naruto to harden at the very sight of it.

Mimicking Sasuke's earlier action, he brings a hand up to Sasuke's cheek, intending to kiss him just as gently, only to have Sasuke shift his head on the pillow slightly, sucking in the longest digit of his hand, laving it with the rough swipe of his tongue.

* * *

Sasuke is left coherent enough only to say one thing: _"You're the reason."_ And Naruto understood.

Naruto is lost, even though he is grounded, adrift in emotions he cannot possibly describe, the temporary eternality of this moment imprinted on his mind. Sasuke's eyes call on him to be harder, to run rough fingertips across pale skin, to leave a bruise in the shape of his emotions, urging him to go deeper. A haze drifts across their eyes, kissing life-breath into each other as they moaned and lost consciousness, coming in the multitude of emotions that engulfed them.

* * *

Naruto woke with a smile that quickly waned as the full extent of last night came to mind. Then ignored, it now bit at the core of his consciousness. _Gaara_. The dawn light filtered into the room, dappled by the trees that blew their moist tang into the room on the eaves of the wind's wings.

Shifting out of the bed, Naruto found his slacks and pulled them on, spine cracking as he bent over, the pull of muscles over his back evidence of last night. He could smell Sasuke on him, the mix of their sex, calming him.

Sasuke woke, eyes opening alert, immediately aware of the lack of a body next to him. He sat up as he saw Naruto circumvent the bed, unsure of where this left them.

"Naruto?" his voice, husky-hoarse, toyed at the shell of Naruto's ears. "Don't leave."

Naruto had only one thing left to do.

"I promise I'll be back." He said, eyes deeply serious, pressing a lingering kiss to Sasuke's lips. Then he disappeared. But Sasuke wasn't worried.

He'd come back. He had a reason.

**THE END**

_A few last words: _

Thanks go out to a few people. First of all **Letta** (whose fics I'm sure you've read!) who helped me out with my plan, and whose analysis of its last section was invaluable in bringing the fic to its ending. Thank you, so much!

Thanks to **all of you** who reviewed, all the constructive criticism I received which I hope (hope!) has made me a better writer. Thank you!

To the **staff at COLLIDE** who recommended this fic with such an amazing (and perhaps overly-flattering! Hehe!) description – it was an honour, and I hope it lived up to your expectations.

I can't actually believe it is over. I'm scared I've left a huge plot hole somewhere... ack!

Thanks for reading.

_Starapple/Martinique_


	16. Part 2 Chapter 14 seek the abyss

**The Little Things: Part 2**

By starapple (i.e. Martinique)

**Rating**: R

**Note**: Adultfanfiction version has higher rating material (currently part 1 only)

**Disclaimer**: Naruto and assorted does not belong to me.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**

There's a time gap between this part and the last part, roughly 2 years. This is an attempt on my part to bring some of the new canon into the story and write about some other ideas I have had in relation to this fic.

I have written **side-fics**, that fall into the two-year gap. After the first part of The Little Things, you should read: Epilogue: At Home, A Return, Lifetimes (Jiraiya/Tsunade) and Bitter Fruits. Bitter Fruits is a WIP, and will lead up to the 'true' beginning of this story in terms of plot line, but is a Hinata/Neji-centric fic. Root to Life is a side-fic for InoShikaChou, set in the war of Part 1. Expect "spoilers" for all manga chapters, and all previous side-fic.

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Leaves have fallen all around him, burying the village paths and streets with their fake strength, resisting for a brief moment before disintegrating with a resounding crackle. Perhaps Autumn is the worst season of the year, a daily reminder that Winter is imminent. The wind slices at his face, cheeks a bright red. The air tastes damp, and Naruto thinks that Sasuke may have had a valid point.

To him it feels like a warning too, to eat more and pack on the pounds for the winter. Sasuke accuses him of being out to hibernate for the winter, and it pauses him in his tracks momentarily. Perhaps he is. Perhaps the fox is.

So _he_ is.

It still feels strange. He never realised how true Sasuke's words when they met again all those years ago could be. But then its hard to look outside of yourself, assuming that he was just growing into an adult. Even now he doesn't quite feel like one. The strange dichotomy of being him and a shinobi. A killing tool doubled, the sharp edge of his knife is the stamina of a jinchuuriku.

Dust has settled into the cracks that have finally shown in Konoha's canvas, the façades of the buildings beleaguered by island monsoons.

People tell him that being an islander is a difficult change. It requires a new mindset. No faces carved into mountains that peer benevolently onto inhabitants. It doesn't bother him, all returns to the earth anyway. The sand beneath his feet eddies briefly, and Naruto has a full flash of Gaara's eyes, dark and hurt.

It has taken time, too much, to come to terms with that he did. Mercy... He barely sees himself capable of it, wind shying away in shuffling steps from it. But he's capable of it.

The path splits into two, one leading to the mountains and the other to the markets. He turns towards the market, dimly making out the cries of traders. There's a port that finally brings goods that cannot be made on the island. Some natural resources. The island is huge, but felling is strictly regulated, as are mining and other similar industries. All their battles are fought away from home, and it strikes him again how weird it is that someone out there, a clone of him dying for the safety he's briefly basking in. it would be his turn eventually. All turns to dust. Sand. Or shaky images of a warren.

Naruto shakes his head.

It doesn't matter, the Mist Village is buried in reparations. He wonders what it would be like now to be one of _them_, but he knows that despite their unmitigated victory, there are still many dangerous mist ninjas. Sasuke didn't find Itachi with Kisame in tow, and that was what worried him to a degree. Kisame was still in play. Whether he would feel bound to the dignity of his former home was questionable, but Naruto wouldn't put it past him to harbour a general grudge against all leaf ninja in any case. The Akatsuki had gone quiet after the rampage of demons, suddenly finding themselves in too precarious a situation in which to wield any real influence. But now the Leaf had stabilised the continent.

The perfect breeding ground for scum.

This train of thought was depressing Naruto. The wind beat at his face, and he wished it would take his dour mood with him. Limbs felt heavy in the gusts, forcing against ever-present gravity. The cries of the traders grew louder, and as he entered the covered market hall the wind tunnelled behind him, propelling him forwards. A smile quirked on his lips – he wasn't light, so to feel the pressure was indicative of very strong winds. He wondered what the weather forecast was supposed to be, he hadn't been keeping up with the news lately. He wasn't sure where all of his time was going, in all honesty.

The meat area was to his right, so he made a sharp turn, wind letting off suddenly. His cheeks stung a little, veins warming the skin above. Eyeing the various counters for the freshest meat, he reminded himself again why coming so late in the day was a bad idea. All the mothers and elderly folk came early in the morning and nabbed the choicest cuts. He spotted a lamb shoulder cut that looked fine.

"Could I have this shoulder cut please?" He asks politely, pointing at the meat.

"Of course, sir." The man, in fair shape, slightly balding, hefts the piece up, presenting it to him. He nods, he weighs it and then wraps it up. "Would you like a bag?"

"No thanks, I have one here." It goes into a fold-able bag, and from thereon in, he picks up vegetables and fruit at random, purely on whim with little thought for the combinations they are supposed to create. But then, Sasuke was far better at this. He appreciated the combination of flavours more and therefore sought to reproduce it in his own cooking, and while Naruto could appreciate them also, he never truly got too involved in it on a day-to-day basis.

A peek at his watch reveals that Sasuke should be here by now. He decides to wait at the entrance, tails lazily flowing behind him as he makes his way there.

It's the scent of pine that distracts him, causing him to breathe deep and see behind closed eyelids flashbacks of a thousand murders. Bile rises suddenly, and Naruto curses vehemently, bent double and clutching his knees for balance. Deep breaths. _Breathe_.

"Are you okay?" A young female voice asks, and he peers up slightly into the round black eyes of a girl no more than ten. Civilian. He blinks twice, nodding weakly. Scent of pine and smoke and burning flesh.

This time it comes from his own mind, memory of what he did in a mock-war, that forest, two children demons. That could have been him, and he had a choice – and he didn't. He wasn't himself, at least not totally. A tail twitched fitfully, and calming himself, the nausea retreated, allowing him to stand up.

"Yes, thank you. Must've had something bad to eat last night." He smiles at her, a smart line of white teeth and a fang that extends more than it should. She doesn't blink, smiling and returning to her mother's side with a prompt, bouncy step. Naruto picks up the fallen groceries and waits.

Sasuke wanders in casually, not-quite ten minutes late. He sidles up to Naruto's side, fingers loosely grasping his hand and a smile in his sharingan-eyes.

"Let's go home." he says, and Naruto's too happy to mention what just happened. What had begun to happen more and more lately, even though he thought that they should have ended years ago. He hadn't heard from the fox in 8 years, just felt his strength and power be added to.

"Sure. I got us some food. Did your mission go OK?" Naruto babbled. Sasuke smiled at that, as always straightforward and to the point, wanting to know.

" The mission was a success, but we found evidence of strange activities like the ones you mentioned from your last trip to the continent. And I hear that others since have come across them too." He released his hand, walking out of the market, into the on-going gust towards their home.

Naruto nodded at Sasuke's words. It confirmed his suspicions that there was something afoot on the continent, and knowing his superiors, they were probably aware of it months ago. He tried to squash the bitter edge to his thoughts.

If it hadn't been for the value of those five years, maybe Gaara's mind could have been saved. The comfortable silence that enveloped them as they walked allowed him to retreat into his thoughts, to try and test his mind against a puzzle the shape of which he couldn't tell, the number of pieces missing unknown.

"What kind of a world do we live in where we are needed?" Naruto mused out loud. He felt the uncertainty emanating from Sasuke at this statement, left unsure of what Naruto meant.

"We are a necessary evil." He replied, although Naruto hadn't really meant it as a question. He appreciated the implication though.

"Are we really?" Naruto stopped himself from saying any more – they had arrived at their home. Sasuke's estate. The wind rushing through the trees masked the sound of their footfalls on the steps up to the door. A key frantically twisted, and they were indoors, sheltered from the harsh wind.

"Crazy weather." He shook his head, and Naruto could only agree.

"We're on an island, we need to start appreciating the changes in the season. It'd be a hot dusty autumn back home." He said it more as a reminder, rather than as a lecture.

"You're right. We've been here long enough now." Shoes off, followed by the overcoat. The house appeared to be the same as he had left it, the only evidence of another's occupation being the dishes in the sink. "What've you been doing with yourself while I've been gone?"

Naruto smirked at his curiosity.

"Oh you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I find the bed is very comfortable at around two in the afternoon when the sun shines on it."

"Really? I think I'd like to test this theory." A lifted eyebrow betrayed his amusement, and then a serious look on his face as he approached, an arm around his waist. "Let me say hello." He leant in, Naruto's hand coming up to trace the outline of his jaw as their lips touched, a thorough kiss to clear debts for missed days.

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R&R as always warmly welcomed and appreciated.

A/N: It feels sort of strange to semi-revive this, but its been knocking around in my head for a few weeks now and won't go away. I blame the new chapters. Stuff is getting interesting.


	17. The importance of honour

**AN:** Yes, I'm still around, and I'm still writing. By magic, it would appear.

**Chapter 2: the importance of honour**

The air seemed heavy. It was his imagination, running wild. Stronger now that the memories kept flashing at him. He hadn't said anything to Sasuke yet, and he wasn't here now either.

He was worried, he had to admit it. The continent seemed massive, and he couldn't fathom running around it for years. The island was home to him now, even though this was his sixth tour since the war only two years prior.

His team was waiting on him, already spread out in the woods. They were to do some reconnaissance, checking on the surrounding areas for signs of rebel movement. The wind was too still. It bothered him, reducing one of his senses to nothing. Looking out across the beach front, he could see the dense fog which indicated the Mist Village Protectorate a few miles ahead.

Their first stop would be there, to liaise with the local administration and get up-to-date details on their expected whereabouts. Signalling to his team, Naruto made his way into the thick and started them marching towards the town.

All that could be heard was the soft rustle of the leaves and the shuffle of feet on the damp mulch of the forest floor. As they neared their destination, Naruto began to consider the current structure of this team he had been transplanted into. He did not know their names, though one was clearly from Choji's family. They were all older than him, and yet he had been named their leader. That said, they had just lost their leader a few days back – natural causes was the official notation – so perhaps Tsunade had had a good reason for appointing him instead. He simply couldn't figure out what it was though. He didn't like it, but he found himself second-guessing every command, every word uttered from her and her ilk. Whenever Sasuke was sent out, he worried. He pretended not to, but it was difficult to keep himself from pacing across the floor like a mad man on his down-time. When Sakura uttered the words 'sedative', he actually seriously considered taking her up on it.

Shaking his head, Naruto concentrated on the path in front of him, his mind subconsciously estimating the distance that was left and the amount of time it would take them to get there. It would be approaching twilight.

As always, they approached shrouded in darkness. Naruto had never been able to shake the feeling that he was part of the shadows, nightmares manifested in reality. The recurrent thoughts always brought back to bear images of death and murder. He couldn't help but feel responsible, no matter how much he attempted to be realistic about the situation. The fact that his father couldn't have possibly known what was going to happen in the future, that the seal would weaken and begin to fade into him. Perhaps he had also not foreseen the amount of chakra he would pull on from the Kyuubi, had expected him to remain quietly sheltered and depending on his own, sabotaged, strength.

Who knew? It felt strange, to be in possession of the knowledge of who exactly his parents were. He had seen a picture of his mother, pregnant with him. And of course he knew who his father was – though it was difficult to reconcile that idea with how he had known him for years, as the Fourth Hokage.

Though he still loved Konoha, it was difficult to love the structure behind it, the driving cogs that had their own agenda and made them pawns in it. Sometimes he wished that he had remained ignorant of it all, that he could blindly trust as he always had. But the events with Gaara all those years ago – and at the thought of that man, his mood dipped even lower – had long stripped him of his boyhood notions in that particular regard.

Even Shikamaru had been deeply unsatisfied by it all, making a point to even voice his concerns in public.

The sudden drop from trees to grassland brought him back to the here and now. Cursing himself silently for not being as aware of his surroundings as he should have been while under the careful watch of his new team, he took control of the situation once more and motioned for them to jog the next short distance to the gates. They were just in time. Single-file, with twilight setting in, they found themselves outside the gate. Masks still firmly in place, he passed a scroll along to the guard who nodded at them with barely concealed curiosity. They were not new, this was not the first journey he had made under the masks. He knew that his brethren, the other masked men and women of the service were constantly making their way there.

The Mist village had changed little, in some regards. The mist still clung to the walls of the city. The citizens shuffled around, their spirits willing but their bodies broken. Naruto found nothing in which to rejoice. His team, glad to be inside, made some snide comments about being victors. Naruto ignored it. There was no point in rebuffing, or in attempting to explain the hollowness of their victory. There were guard posts and checkpoints dotted around the city, which itself had been laid out in a circular pattern. Perfect for deepening the humiliation, making sure that the citizens knew who was in charge. As though that couldn't be seen – Naruto hated this, hated the fact that he could not feel proud of his own nation, the one that he had aspired to become Hokage of.

He didn't know if that still motivated him. That year spent in mourning – and now his relationship with Sasuke, were all too new and raw in some ways. He had been distracted, had allowed himself to create the bonds that he had always craved. And now he was stuck. And unravelling from the inside, again.

He wondered if this was the Kyuubi's doing. Its silence over the years as he begun to break down mentally taunting him. He could almost feel that whisker of a knowing smile deep in the cage of the seal, an illusion because nothing was there any more. He was _it_. And he didn't know what that would mean, didn't know whether to tell Sasuke and the others, whether it would change anything if he waited for the inevitable.

He almost felt like Gaara back then, losing his mind to the demon. It had lulled him into a false sense of security, making him believe that his body and his mind was his.

"Cap'n." a voice, Akimichi's he guessed. They were outside the building.

"Yes?" he stonily asked, unreasonably annoyed at the intrusion.

"Are we to accompany you inside or do you want us to settle down for the night?" it was an open, honest question. Naruto couldn't help but analyse it for any potential undertones, anything that could be considered a challenge to his leadership, his qualities or abilities. They knew who he was, with these blasted tails forever trailing him.

Deciding it was a valid question, he told them to settle down and that he'd brief them later. They tripped off towards the barracks. Entering the shell of the former government building, he found the security here to be at its highest. It put him on guard, clearly there had to be a good reason for this. Waved through after a glance at his pass, he was shown the way to the leader of the current administration, here doing his six-month's duty. Opening the double doors, he slipped the mask of his head and attached it to his hips, prepared to face the Aburame.

"Manabu, team 23 reporting for duty. I was told you had further details of our mission." Naruto was in full professional mode now.

"Ah, Naruto. Thanks for replacing their team's leader on such short notice, but we needed you to even up the balance. As you can see there has been a significant increase in the amount of security around this building." Naruto nodded at this, and Manabu continued on: "That is because there was an attempt on my life recently, one of the citizens taking it on himself to attempt to blow himself up while I was entering the building one morning. It was only by luck that I noticed him and threw myself out of the way as he blew himself up. Needless to say, had he not been a complete amateur, I would not be here right now."

Manabu cleared his throat, and Naruto took this opportunity to ask the obvious question. "Why has there been no news of this in New Konoha? Or are you trying to keep it under wraps?"

"Yes, we are trying to keep this quiet. There were no witnesses, but clearly he had help, which means that they may be organizing a similar attempt at the near future. What we need is to find out how they are getting around our security forces to smuggle in the explosives. We've already confiscated anything that could be used to make a viable weapon, so it must be coming in from the outside. Before you ask, the inventory of the weapons used by the barracks has been checked and re-checked. No one has lost anything or failed to report it. We've therefore come to the undeniable truth that we may have a potential war of attrition or full-out civil war on our hands if we don't do something quickly. We can't have them resisting!" Manabu ground out, stomping his hand angrily on the desk in front of him. The grey hair on his head was barely visible in the dim light, but the lines on his face told a far greater story. He'd barely been here a month, and yet he looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Of course." Naruto thought of how they could possibly be achieving this. It had been two years, which was sufficient time for habits and routine to become weak points in their military structure. Even as he thought of this, he wondered why the fuck he had to be the one lumbered with this problem.

"We want you to find out how they are getting in. We need a fresh pair of eyes. So this isn't a normal reconnaissance matter, this is more of a matter of security. Get your team out there as soon as daylight hits, you have my permission to find the loophole – be it a hole in our security or an actual person. Whatever it is, eliminate it." Manabu sat down and picked up a pen.

"Yes sir!" Naruto offered with more enthusiasm than he actually felt. It satisfied Manabu, who smiled at him and then waved him out. Mask firmly re-attached to his head, he made his way out, nodding at the guards as entered into what was now night. Strolling towards the barracks, he wondered what exactly it was that Sasuke was doing now.

* * *

Five days later, Naruto found himself to be closer to the answer than he had wished. His team had been acting strange, though he had pretended not to notice. He was surprised, and again he saw their faces in his mind that first evening after the briefing from Manabu. Since then, they had been gathering information in the town, double-checking the security from the inside out. His team had become decidedly skittish, when on impulse he had decided to check the temple.

"Do you think we really need to go there?" Emi asked, not quite managing to mask the twinge of panic he heard laced under her words.

"We have to be thorough." He voiced it without any undertones, putting Emi at ease who thought she had escaped notice. Pretending to be looking across the landscape, instead he considered the tense stances of his team mates, and suddenly the puzzles began to slot into one, and he realized that he had to see Manabu first to confirm his suspicions. "Break for chow time, and I'll meet you later." He made the seals for the teleportation jutsu, suppressing his chakra while re-emerging in the branches just a few meters away in hearing distance.

"--Shit, I'm sorry but you two were just standing there! What was I supposed to do? Let him lead us to the very place we had promised to protect from all investigation?!"

Akimichi's voice was too low for him to hear, and Mahiru's comments made no sense to him. All of a sudden, seeing Manabu had taken a back seat and Naruto found himself inordinately more interested in trailing them towards the temple. He wondered what he would find there. In any case, he thought he dimly recalled reading that the leader of his current team had died days after what he now knew to have been the so-called 'security disturbance' that had Manabu rattled.

Anger began to bubble in Naruto's mind, and it was only his common sense that kept him from storming down there to demand answers. One should only ask questions to which one knew the answers, thereby being able to determine the trustworthiness of his companions.

He kept up with their discreetly hurried march towards the temple, bouncing from branch to branch with practised steps. He hopped around the building as they entered it, jumping up to the window with a chakra-powered launch and then concealing himself swiftly in the beams of the ceiling. This temple was dedicated to one of the many rain-gods of the Mist Village.

"Toki? Its us. We have to move you, quickly." Emi called frantically to a trap door that she revealed to be under a table laden with candles and incense. A woman appeared, looking uncertain in her gesture and stance, as though she wasn't quite sure whether she was safe. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the protective hand on the swell of her stomach, and he barely bit back the curse that was on the tip of his tongue. This changed things. His team had been holding out on him, and he would pull them up as soon as he could.

"Where are we going?" Toki voiced quietly, the waver in her words clear even to him a few meters away.

Mahiru spoke up this time, urgency plain in his voice. "Nowhere in particular, we are going to have to keep you moving around the market for most of the day until this place has passed inspection. Let's go!"

"Ye-yes." As they filed out of the doorway, he could see Tobitake, the Akimichi shake his head in disgust at the situation. He was clearly not happy with the subterfuge, and Naruto made a mental note to approach him first.

* * *

Much later after they had seen the temple and discovered nothing, and after Naruto had kept them on their toes by insisting on covering the market did he let them bunk down for the night. But he kept Tobitake back, on the pretence of giving him a task to do tomorrow morning.

Tobitake waited now, tense in a corner.

"Cap'n?" Tobitake asked. Naruto whirled a knife in his hand, the yellow fruit falling to ribbon in his hands.

"Tobitake, tell me, is there something I should know?" Tobitake went to open his mouth, but a raised hand from Naruto forestalled him. "What you say next will affect your career, so don't play me for a fool."

A smile quirked at the lips of Tobitake.

"You're better than I thought. Although in all honesty I expected someone from internal intelligence." a gruff compliment, and he took a step forward towards a seat, at which Naruto nodded in permission. "Thanks."

"So?" he prodded.

"Our late captain was involved with a girl here. He hid it from us until we discovered them together early one morning. We'd been looking for him, having urgent orders..." Tobitake waved a large hand, implying that it no longer mattered. "In any case, we found out even later that this girl was engaged to a man, something she had failed to tell the captain. Not that it made this any better. Anyway, from what I understand, that man stole some of the explosives from the captain and used it to blow himself up. It didn't take us long to put two and two together."

"He committed seppuku, didn't he." It wasn't a question, rather than a search for confirmation.

"Yes."

"She's pregnant with Yukio's kid, which is why you're sheltering her. The Mishima don't have much of a family name in Konoha, so I assume he made you promise to protect her from the family of her fiance? Am I right?" Naruto asked.

"No, not entirely. We are protecting her from both families. If the Mishima find out they will send one of their sons out here to kill her. While they don't have much of a family name now, their line is old and goes back enough for them to attach great importance to honour and shame. Perhaps too much."

"Hm." Naruto set down the knife and half-eaten fruit.

"I didn't want to lie to you, but we were too deep in it."

"Well, the problem with seppuku is that the signs are fairly obvious if you know what you're looking for, even though you three disguised it fairly well. I assume he asked not to be decapitated."

"Yes."

"You're dismissed. Tell the other two that we leave tomorrow after I've spoken to Manabu."

"What about Toki?" he asked, turning back halfway towards the door. He was a good shinobi.

"She'll remain protected, don't worry."

* * *

"You told him that?" Manabu asked, anger evident on his face.

"Don't break my promise. Keep her alive, protect her. I'm not asking that she be given freedom, just that she be kept in someone's place where neither family finds out about her. She's caused the death of two men, which is something she has to live with. But more importantly, she's pregnant with the child of that man, who wiped his slate clean the moment he committed seppuku. While we are in control of the situation, he knew that we were in effect still at war, and to fraternize with the enemy like that was beyond unacceptable." Naruto felt detached from the entire situation, rationalizing this to the other man but wanting to be miles away at sea.

"What about your team?"

"They will receive punishment on our return. They have already resigned themselves to that fact. But we need all the able-bodied people that we can get. As it is, they didn't know enough at the time to warn you of the fiancee. Otherwise you know they would have."

Manabu slumped in his seat, displeasure clear on his face. "I've lost valuable sleep over this. Although I'm glad to hear there isn't a resistance as of yet, this nevertheless leaves me totally unsatisfied. I trust you'll report that to Neji when you see him."

"Of course. I'm just glad this wasn't a more serious matter."

* * *

The sun hung low in the sky, and Naruto was exhausted by the time he made his way through the front door. He could smell food being cooked, the light smell of rice simmering wafting to him from the kitchen.

"Sasuke!" he called, a smile hovering on his lips at the prospect of seeing him.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Sasuke shouted back. Dropping the jounin vest and the mask on to the couch, Naruto padded over into the kitchen and embraced Sasuke from behind, ignoring the twinges of arousal to instead hug him tightly.

"Hard few days?" A warm hand on his while Sasuke continued to stir the vegetables. Naruto sometimes couldn't get over how they had managed to get to here from those fragile beginnings.

"Very much so. Waste of time." Naruto snuggled further into the space between Sasuke's head and shoulder, nuzzling his neck. The stirring came to a slow halt.

"Well if you wash up quickly, we can eat and you can tell me all about it." Although phrased like a request, it was more of a demand. Time had softened Sasuke, though he had lost none of his sharp edges.

As a sigh escaped Naruto's mouth, he let go of Sasuke and made his way to the bathroom. Ten minutes later he's seated at the table with Sasuke opposite and steaming bowls of food between them.

The smell of the food is too strong for Naruto, who ends up gobbling the first few bites down, feeling absolutely famished. Sasuke watches him with an indulgent smile, before asking about his mission. Naruto filled him in on the general details. They shared everything with each other. When it came to village business, they were both discreet to a fault outside the walls of their home.

"So yes, not a good trip. But it could have been a lot worse." Sasuke nodded at Naruto's words, agreeing with his conclusion.

"On another note, it doesn't add anything to the strange happenings on the mainland. I guess we will have to wait a while yet before we find out anything else."

"Yes." Naruto wasn't certain if he truly wanted to know what was going on out there. There had been reports very recently of a lone man wearing one of the rings the Akatsuki had favoured. More details were unavailable, under lock and key with Tsunade. He strongly suspected that Jiraiya had something to do with this, but the man was nowhere to be found. He made a mental note to harass them both at the earliest convenience. Not that he was truly supposed to know this, but then again he had learnt a few tricks from the old man while they'd been away on training recently.

"Got a new mission yet?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope, downtime for the next two weeks. You?" Sasuke smiled at his words.

"Continent in four days." Naruto joined in Sasuke's smile. They had four days in which to entertain themselves.

"Well, we had best put that time to use..." Trailing off, Naruto made for the bedroom, flashing a smirk in Sasuke's direction who was not slow at all in following.

They were making out languidly, hands playing across skin under t-shirts, when the phone rang. Sasuke made to get up and answer it, but Naruto pinned him down, pushing his knee between his thighs against which Sasuke bucked, moaning into his open-mouth. It was only the constant ring that made Naruto get up and answer the phone abruptly.

"Yes?!" he asked, just a little flushed. Sasuke watched him from the bed with lowered lashes, a hand already pushing down his trousers. They both stopped, and the anger faded from Naruto's eyes to be replaced with horror at the words gushing from the person on the other side of the line. Hanging up, Naruto uttered two words that propelled them into action, into finding Sakura:

"Lee's dead."

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I guess this is what we call a cliffhanger, right? Anyway, this felt good to write, in that I finally had the opportunity to do so while not worrying about a million other things that needed doing. At the same time, I feel rather out of practice, and it is most likely that this chapter when compared with any of the first part is very different in terms of style. In any case, the characters are older and wiser. I'll be tying in some of the current manga canon, so expect spoilers at any moment!

Constructive criticism warmly welcomed.


	18. heading into the unknown

**AN**: This section of the story is taking us into a new set of situations. Naruto, Sasuke and the village will be faced with new challenges, decisions and situations. As ever this fic is rated M due to content, and will potentially be getting gorier as things progress. I'll also probably start switching perspective a bit more, though Naruto remains the more interesting person for me to write (and easier, to be honest.) Constructive Criticism is as ever welcomed.

Pairings: NaruSasu, (GaaNaru), HinaNeji, LeeSaku, InoShikaChou, TsuJir, others to be determined.

**heading into the unknown**

The funeral was a swift and quiet affair. The body had been disposed off at the time, and the rites were short because neither of them believed in anything particular, not even Konoha. Sakura stared glassily into the distance, unwilling to detach herself from the safe haven she had established in her mind. If she set off to sail in this storm, her port would disappear and she would drown in a flood of tears, unable to speak coherently or sensibly. And she was strong, like a kunoichi was supposed to be. Strong, like a mother of two small children had to be. Her son and daughter were with her, both snivelling. For a moment she despised this, this situation they had allowed themselves to be thrust into. How she had allowed Lee to go to the continent, again and again. How she had neglected to perform their leaving habits – a kiss, a languid goodbye kiss that measured her pulse and quickened her heart. He had smiled at her, a wistful expression on his face as he picked up his shinobi gear. She knew in her heart that he was considering how lucky, and satisfied he was with his life. Two beautiful children, a wife he adored.

How to believe that he was dead? That he was not going to turn up in a few weeks, as cheerful as ever and a broken bone here or there to explain the delay, the loss of time.

These were her dreams, always cruelly shut down by her mind which reminded her of the words tumbling from the team he had been dispatched with. The curt words, the shuffled feet, the awkward silence as she begun to process the information they were giving her.

In her ears now, it sounded like staccato beats transmitted on radio. The frequency was all off, human tone and feeling stripped from the sounds that formed to make _words_ and _sentences_.

Sakura halted the thoughts in her mind, clinging to the inner fabric of her mind, ignoring the mist, embracing her children, Touka and Shisou. They snuggled in close, Touka taking her hand in hers and pressing a kiss to it.

A traitorous tear slipped down Sakura's face. It was only when Naruto's hand came to rest on her shoulders that she mustered a faint smile, a grateful smile at his presence.

As the service ended, Sakura began to turn away. Naruto's hand slipped off her shoulder, hanging awkwardly in mid-air as he decided whether to embrace her or to let her be with her children. He breathed in the thick air, uncertain and unconvinced he was doing any good. A look in Sasuke's direction confirmed him that it was futile right now. Her grief was deep like the ocean, unforgiving and intent on dragging every word into its depths. He would have to try again another time.

"Sakura." he spoke her name before he knew what he planned to say. She turned to look at him, pink hair covered by the black shawl she wore, eyes glistening with tears. The kids looked at him, he could see that they were uncertain as to his intentions. When he didn't say anything further, Sakura just nodded, a small tremulous smile on her face. He grasped it with the full strength of his mind, as though to comfort himself in her grief. He made her a thousand promises, to find out what had happened, to find out who had done this, to make them _pay_.

Sakura and her children walked away, into the waiting arms of her family. She could do no more at this moment in time. Naruto watched her go, aware that Sasuke had now moved closer to him. The air was thick with the prospect of rain. He wanted it to pour now, immediately, straight down on him. He wanted it to wash away her despair, her grief. He wanted to transport her into the future where this would just be a twinge in her heart, where Lee's name would be a reminder of all the good times they had shared.

He cast his eyes over all the other attendees, Ten Ten, Neji, Gai, Kakashi, Iruka, Kiba, Hinata...the list in his mind blurring into one as he understood the turn-out for Lee. He had bee a great shinobi, someone to be proud of. His integrity had been impeachable. Konoha had lost a valuable ally, and he needed to know how this had happened.

Thunder rolls loudly overhead, followed by a sudden gasp of electricity shooting across the sky that leaves him breathless and on edge. Waiting for the rain. Sasuke stares at him with his sharingan-eyes, saying nothing.

* * *

At 9am, the next day, they found themselves in front of Tsunade's tower. A summons had brought them there, and as they headed up the stairs he could see other familiar faces as well. Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji were up ahead.

"Nara" Naruto called out to them. They moved like one, turning around to look at him with understanding in their eyes.

"Been called up." Chouji spoke for them, a quiet voice considering his size and girth. The stairs were narrow, testament to the period they had been built in, when security and functionality were the key matters.

"Another tour to the main land?" Sasuke inquired.

"No, something more exotic for a change, I think you two will be joining us." Ino spoke up.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, surprised at this. They hadn't been sent out together since the War all those years ago. It had never really occurred to them to ask why.

Questions at the tip of their tongue were nevertheless postponed as they reached the door at the top. With a nod to the two chuunin guarding the door, they were allowed into the inner sanctum of the Godaime. Tsunade-sama looked up at them and nodded with a determined expression on her face.

Naruto resisted the urge to fold his arms over, instead holding them loosely at his side in show of the respect that her position demanded. It was difficult though, and he could feel the wild side of him beckoning free. Demanding that he be the one to be shown deference. He had to bite back the urge behind his teeth, swallow I whole before he choked on that heady feeling. It came over him again, and instead he had to focus on Sasuke's presence.

"Thank you for coming this morning. I know you are all wondering why you are here, as Ino already guessed, I will be sending you all out together. This is a secret mission, one however I know you will succeed in as you all share the same burning desire to uncover some answers." Tsunade paused, steepling her fingers as she leant forward. She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. "Lee's death is a loss to this village, but also a loss to my heart. I hold each and every one of you dear to me, like my own family. I want answers. You will find these answers, because I know you can do so."

Tsunade looked at each of them for a moment, seemingly satisfied with what she saw.

"Location?" Sasuke asked, smart eyes trailing the stack of individual scrolls.

"The scrolls will contain everything you need to get started. Take one now. This is not just a reconnaissance mission. Rather I want you to find everything out and then to get these bastards." There was no mistaking the vehemence behind Tsunade's words. "We did not work this hard and lose so many people to get drawn back into a war. Lee was no rookie. Whoever did this is smart, dangerous, and acting under command. They were ambushed, which is why we know whereabouts to look."

"When do we leave?" Shikamaru finally asked.

"As soon as possible. Dismissed." They all turned to go hesitating on Tsunade's last words. "And good luck."

"Thanks." Naruto ground out, breaking rank to stride out. He would find this person, he would find this person responsible for this death and deliver their corpse to Sakura for reckoning.

Once outside, Naruto pulled in calming breaths, telling himself that now was not the time to be mutinous. It would just get him killed, or worse, Sasuke would be implicated. Sasuke stood to his side, looking out across at the people going their way as the day demanded it. Following his line of sight, he caught the eye of the girl who saw him hunched over the other day. It was humbling, the way she smiled at him brightly and waved in recognition. His face smiled in instant response, automatically because that was what he did when he saw such rare smiles from the public.

In an instant all of his hate and dissatisfaction was gone, wiped away with the gift of a child's smile. Sasuke frowned at him.

"You're tenser than a genin on his first day, what's wrong?"

"Nothing now. All fine now..." Naruto trailed off, tasting the air again for a moment. The thunderstorm from last night had passed over the island, whipping trees with its wind and casting shadows with its flashing lights. The gods had put on a fabulous show, and he had watched it out of their window, Sasuke sleeping next to him. "I'll tell you later."

"Let's gather the materials and meet up in about an hour?" Shikamaru's suggestion was met with a few nods. They walked off towards the weapon shop, Sasuke perusing the scroll he had in front of him.

"This does not look good."

"No shit."

"What the fuck was Lee doing all the way out there?"

"There are only two people who can answer that question. One just gave us our orders, and the other...Well, you know that person could be anywhere."

Sasuke pushed him into an alleyway with a flat warm hand on his chest between a weapons shop and a clothes shop. "You don't seem to be too happy."

"This is bullshit. I don't plan to be out there for five years chasing ghosts. Not like last time. Sakura deserves her answers, what pisses me off though is that we already have most of them right here in Konoha. We just need to find them again for the sake of propriety. You watch and wait what happens when we come back."

"Well that's just what happens when you're a jounin."

"You think so?"

"I think the war proved that enough."

"You know I hate it when you call it a war." Naruto resisted the urge to spit, as it was he was humming with distaste already. It was plain to see on his face.

"You'd better rein in that expression on your face now." Sasuke quirked his lips at him, urging him to cheer up before they went back to the rest of the team. Naruto sighed, bringing his hands up to Sasuke's hips now that he quelled his bad mood.

"Sometimes I think you might actually be the better half." Sasuke's lips settled firmly into a smile, and again he couldn't help it, he smiled with him.

"Let's go talk to Sakura before we go, then grab the rest of the materials?"

"Brilliant idea." With that, Naruto teleported them both to Sakura's front door, unsurprised at the number of flowers waiting in front of it.

**AN**: Wow I'm rusty! I actually remember where I want to go with this story, which is why this is not so difficult to write. But life has been hectic, and writing took a back seat for many reasons. I am however now caught up with the manga, and was delighted to find myself inspired to continue this story. The quality will pick up as I find my rhythm again. Just a small thank you to all the people who continue to read and favourite this story... wow.


	19. Chapter 19: gifts to altars

**Chapter 4: gifts to altars, poisons to our enemies**

The house in front of them was in mourning. The shutters were closed, no visitors permitted entry without the appropriate words of apology and contritition.

Sakura's mother opened the door to their insistent knocks, they were both mindful of the amount of time they had left before they needed to go.

Naruto put his hand forward first, remembering that it had not been so long since he last saw Sachiko.

"Where are my favourite children?" he asked, managing a light smile she responded to with a tremulous one herself.

"They are playing in the study – Sakura has been," she averted her eyes for a moment, "crying all afternoon in fits and starts." She led them in, nodding at Sasuke with the kind of respect he had not encountered in years.

Grim faced they moved in union behind her, taking in that nothing had chaged since the funeral. They hoped that she would take their news as the offering it was intended as, to be placed at her feet with the utmost care in front of her for inspection, approval and blessing to the altar of Lee's memory. When they entered the living room, taking in the out of place light décor and open windows they were struck by how it did not correspond to the image of Sakura curled up in a bll at one end of the couch, sobbing quietly.

"Sakura." Sasuke spoke before Naruto was even remotely ready to say anything. The pain in his voice was palpable, reverberating around the room. Naruto was shocked and proud at all the same time to see the emotions come to the surface for someone other than himself. Sakura seized crying at his voice, looking up at them all red eyes, red nose, red cheeks, quivering red mouth and unkempt pink hair. So much red, like blood, turning pink as it mixes with water running down a drain. Taking in their shinobi gear she smiled briefly, gratefully, and Naruto knew there and then that he would still do anything for her, anything anything. Opening his arms to her he brought her into his embrace at the foot of the couch. Touching heads to one another, he felt the calming influence of Sasuke's palm on the top of his hair. His tails curled in on themselves finding his feet and her waist, sort of like coming home but aware that her mother was still standing in the door frame watching, a civilian.

"We are going to get some answers for you, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji as well."Sasuke spoke.

"Thank you." Sakura whispered, blessing in the fullest terms within her voice, melting down the void in her soul just a little bit.

"When are you going?"

"One hour – before the trail gets any colder". Naruto interjected.

"OK... Thank you. Thank you. I just don't know what to do with myself, with Touka and Shisou. Mom has been helping me figure some of it out though."

"Don't think about it to much, you'll have the answers soon enough."Sasuke said, and this time there was a dark sadness clinging to his words."

"Not just that, no for that I know I can rely on you. I meant what happens afterwards, whether I know or not Touka and Shisou have to come first."

"Of course, that's why you have us, Ino Shikamaru and Chouji to look after them as Guardians – we'll help you raise them." Sakura pulled out of his embrace at Naruto's words.

"I don't mean it like that – I mean, OK," she paused, gathering breath and soul, looking at her mother's encouraging smile, "I'm going to retire and -"

"WHAT." Naruto shot up, tails following head and body.

"I'm going to raise them as civilians."

"Absolutely fucking not." The growl in Naruto's voice filled the room with palpable menace. He nevertheless got the real feeling that he was treading on thin ground, and Sasuke's next words shut him up.

"That's absolutely up to you, whatever it is that you want I will support you." His beautific smile at Sakura & Sachiko made his blood pressure rise, as did the firm almost painful grip around his arm that sought to unbalance him totally. As if Sakura's statement hadn't already effectively done so. It hurt, this sudden full throttle denial of their past, as if it didn't matter, hadn't happened.

Sakura meanwhile remained silent.

"We have to go." Sasuke said, more softly this time.

"Yes...we do...We will see you soon, say 'hi' to the kids for us." Naruto spoke neutrally absent any inflection that would betray his mood.

"Sakura, Sachiko-San." Sasuke nodded at them both as they made their way out. It was only when they were back outside that Naruto noticed the twitch of curtains near the study, shaming him of his words mere moments earlier. Did he deserve to judge her? They were her children after all. But nevertheless he twitched with restless energy.

"Let's go." Sasuke said, grip on his arm loosening now they were outside.

"OK. But we will talk about this later."

**AN: **Short update, I lost the original version of this chapter so unfortunately I had less patience to make this the same. I might work on a short story in the mean time, but lets see how life goes first.


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